All in Due Time
by strength-91-possibility-none
Summary: During a mission involving the Akatsuki, 15 year old Naruto finds him himself 27 years prior to the present. Takes place after Team seven reunion but they retrieved Sasuke, as he is now in Konoha. Fic won't be the same as series. Slight Yaoi. DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Title****: All in Due Time**

**Summary****: During a mission involving the Akatsuki, 15 year old Naruto finds himself 27 years prior to the present. Takes place after Team seven reunion but they retrieved Sasuke, as he is now in Konoha. Fic won't be the same as series.**

**Pairings****: Sasunaru but surprisingly it's not the main part of the story. Other minor pairings along the way.**

**Warnings****: Ummm…. If you don't like yaoi then I suggest you don't read this, even if it won't be too big.**

**Disclaimer****: Never owned Naruto, and sadly I never will. TT**

**Yes, I know I should be finishing my other stories instead of starting a new one but this idea has been nagging me for about two months, practically BEGGING to be written. So, here I am. There should be no worries about my other stories either because I will finish them. In fact, 'This is My Life' should be finished really soon.**

**Anyway, let's get on to the first chapter/prologue!!**

oOo

Silence.

That's all that was heard as they jumped from tree branch to tree branch, nearing their destination. Feet nimbly tapped the bark as they mentally prepared themselves for the gruesome battle yet to come.

Naruto quickly came to attention of the hand belonging to his brunette leader. He dropped to the ground after the signal was given, along with his teammates.

As soon as they touched the ground, all seven able bodied ninja dashed off into multicolored blurs, heading in the same direction. Not too long after, they're met with an open field. All stopped dead in their tracks.

Small glances from left to right then ensued, each member of the infiltration team taking out a kunai from their pouches. Faces calm yet tense all at once.

The mission was not a simple one. All were chosen specifically for this because it was not to be an easy one. The mission: Infiltrate the Akatsuki hideout before they finish their unknown plan.

Tsunade knew that sending Naruto there blindly was like giving them an early Christmas present, but she had no choice. It was either this, or wait a whole month for Sasuke to come back from his mission, and they couldn't do that. They were racing against the clock. This needed to be confronted now before it was too late. So, she decided to trust her artificial brother and sent him off with six of his fellow jounin and one newly established ANBU, just to be safe. Oh, and a dog.

Now, here they are, in the vast land that separated Suna and Konoha. They heard from a reliable source that the nine S-class ninja were found in this area as of late. Naruto just hoped that Ero-sennin wasn't wrong.

"It shouldn't be long now." Naruto heard Shikamaru speak up, breaking the long overdue silence. The squad leader lazily glanced around at his teammates, stopping at the Byakugan user behind him. "Neji?"

Without question, Neji gathered his hands in front of him. "Byakugan!" Veins sprouted out around his eyes. After some time of standing there, he grunted, pale eyes focusing back on to the leader.

"There's chakra on the side of a cliff not far from here all gathered into one spot. It seems, just like that one time," he spared a glance at Naruto before refocusing on Shikamaru, "they've sealed the entrance."

"Did you notice the kind of seal it is?" Shikamaru inquired.

"It's not something I am familiar with."

The lazy brunette hummed in thought before turning to the rest of the troop. "Let's go check it out." And with that, Neji lead them to the Akatsuki hide out.

oOo

"We're almost done, everyone. Now, all we need is the ni-"

"Ha!"

"… Is there a reason for that rude interruption?"

"Of course."

"Then please enlighten us, un."

"… We've got intruders."

"Excellent. I've been wanting to shave some limbs off as of late."

"And, it seems, that one of them is the nine-tailed jinchuuriki."

"… Even better. Great work, Zetsu."

"My pleasure, Leader."

oOo

Naruto wordlessly inspected the seal up above. No matter how much he wracked his brain, he couldn't identify the inscribed paper placed on the rock in front of them. He knew that nobody else could figure it out as they all crease their eyebrows in thought.

From behind, someone spoke up.

"I know this seal!" Everyone turned expectantly to the green spandex clad ninja, waiting for answers. "Gai-sensei had me train with these when I was a youthful rookie! It would help me with my speed. Yes, Gai-sensei was, and will always be, the greatest tea-"

"Just tell us how we get rid of the seal!" Kiba interrupted Lee before he went into a long monologue. Naruto snickered. "We don't have long. They probably already know we're here."

"Kiba's right. It's like last time; they most likely know we are here now." Sakura reminded him of the time they went to rescue the Kazekage not long ago.

Fire lit up in Lee's eyes as he pumped his fist. "Yosh, you are right! I will inform you of everything about this seal, Sakura-san! Then, I could get that da-"

"Today!" Naruto interrupted this time, wanting to see some action.

"Oh, sorry." Calming down, Lee gave Naruto and his teammates the information they needed. "This seal is one of ten, and is the last one to be peeled off as it is in the center. As you can see, all around us are trees. I wouldn't be surprised if they hid the other nine within the forest. But they can't be any further than five kilometers from the center seal.

"These seals also have to be taken off in order; they each have a number on them ranging from one to ten. They need to be taken off within a minute of each, too. But that's the lowest time. The time limit could be longer."

Naruto stared at him curiously. "So, you're saying that after you peel say the first seal off, you have a minute to get the other one, and after you get the second one, you have another minute to get the third and so on and so forth?"

"Precisely." Lee watched as everyone looked at one another.

"That shouldn't be too hard as we can have the person who takes off the first one go over to the ninth one and wait. And if we time this right we could…" Naruto noticed Shikamaru trailing off. He looked over to where Shikamaru was facing to see Lee holding up his hand.

"Wait, there's more." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The thing is these seals are somehow connected in a way that as soon as the first one is touched by a certain person, only that person could touch the other ones as they have a sensor that memorizes the texture of skin."

"So… what happens if another person touches a seal?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Just like what would happen if you don't take the next seal off in time… boom." Silence consumed them as they digested this new information. The way Lee said that had Naruto gulping, getting antsy.

Chouji finally made himself heard. "But how do we know which seal to take off next?" Everyone but Lee looked up at the seal sticking to the rock, Naruto noticed how there was no number written on the paper.

"The seals know when they have to be peeled off next. The chakra within them gets stronger as if they know they need to be deactivated next."

Angrily pouting, Naruto tried to come up with a plan so they could enter the hide out. He's not the only one as everyone else solemnly stared at the ground, brains in use. Shikamaru got down into his thinking position.

It didn't take long as the brunette suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. His teammates looked at him, hoping for a good plan.

oOo

"They've stopped their pursuit."

"It seems they've stumbled across a problem."

"They're planning on trying to get in."

"Tch. No, Really? And here I thought they just came by for a tea party!"

"Shut up, Kisame!"

"Why don't you come over here and make me, Hidan! I don't care if you're immortal, it'll be much more fun to shave your limbs off over and over again!"

"That's enough, you two!"

"…"

"Did you want to say something, Itachi?"

"… Idiots…"

"I agree!"

"What did you say!?"

"Tobi's a good boy!!"

"Quit cowering, dumbass."

"You were saying, Zetsu?"

"Thank you, Leader. Anyway, they've finished their planning and are about to attempt to open the entrance. What should we do?"

"Let's wait and see what happens."

oOo

Hiding behind a large rock near the cave entrance, Naruto crouched down, getting ready for attack. Right beside him, Chouji and Kiba did the same thing. Kiba silently talked to his furry companion beside him, getting Akamaru ready as well. A little further down, the blonde saw Shikamaru peeking around the rock, his hand holding the ear piece of the walkie-talkie in his ear.

"Everyone in position?" Talking into the walkie-talkie, Shikamaru waited for answers that Naruto couldn't hear. "Good, Sakura?" Another silence. "Yes… Lee?" The brunette's eyebrows furrowed as he called the hyperactive teen's name again.

Naruto glanced curiously at the team leader, wondering what's going on. That is, until he heard a voice within the ear piece that had Shikamaru go spastic as he screamed back.

"Sakura, you don't need to scream!" A small sigh escaped his mouth. "Troublesome woman."

Another scream had Shikamaru rubbing his fingers in his eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose along the way. Naruto knew that he'll be getting a headache soon. He mentally laughed at his friend's expense.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm not going to take it back." A pause then, "Because it's true." Another sigh before Naruto heard Lee's name once more.

Shikamaru's head suddenly shot up. "Why didn't you answer before?" A small smile adorned the lazy ninja's face as a small chuckle was heard. "Figures. Well, just keep it in from now on because you're going to have to hear Neji as you move around."

Although Naruto wouldn't be doing much, he must say that the plan wasn't that bad.

Neji was supposed to be standing on top of the huge pinnacle of the lonesome cliff that was about 500 meters in diameter. His job was to use his kekkai genkai to lead Lee to the next seal that had the most chakra within it. And of course, Lee would be the one getting all the seals as he was the fastest.

Sakura was to wait for Lee to get the last slip of paper before attacking the rock that it was on, smashing it into oblivion.

Now that Naruto thought about it, it's almost like the plan they used in the mission to retrieve Gaara.

Naruto snapped out of his musings as he noticed the look of concentration on Shikamaru's face. He stepped closer to him to ask what's up but he's interrupted.

"It's begun. He got the first one." Naruto was suddenly pushed forward but regained his balance before he fell over. Over each shoulder he found Kiba and Chouji watching the captain closely, waiting for more updates. He opted to not punching the two idiots on his back as he also listened for an update. He felt something wet drop on his nose and looked up to see Akamaru looking at Shikamaru over him.

"Lee got the second one." Shikamaru told them in monotone. Kiba shifted behind Naruto.

"That's was with three seconds to spare." Naruto chanced a frightened glance at the dog lover, not believing that they almost went boom so early in the game. He silently prayed for Lee not to stumble or get lost.

"The third one is secured." Shoulders released their tension slightly as they still watched in anticipation. They heard a faint rustle of leaves far away to the right, knowing that it was Lee.

Fingers were thrust out into his vision, three standing up… two…

"Four." Naruto could feel the two behind him sag in relief as he let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Lee! Listen to Neji!"

Eyes widened as breaths were held once again.

"He almost has it… Lee! You only have six seconds!" Naruto tumbled as he and the other two got closer to Shikamaru, wanting to hear what's going on. The desperation in his voice made it sound like Lee wasn't going to make it. Only two seconds now. "Five."

Naruto felt weight being lifted off his shoulders as Kiba stood up straighter, leaning against Akamaru behind him and Chouji fell to the ground. The blonde, however, just stayed where he was, frozen on the spot; he couldn't believe how stressing this was, thrusting your lifeline onto one person's shoulders.

The brunette spoke once more. "Was that west or east, Neji?!" Shikamaru's eyes widen as he twisted his head from left to right, futilely searching for a green spandex wearing ninja. "Lee! That was west! Got it? He meant west!!" It amazed Naruto how active the lazy boy could get when it came to it. "Neji, he needs more directions!" The kitsune looks behind him to see Kiba holding seven fingers up, then six… five… four… three…

"He has Six!" Shoulders slumping, Naruto combed a hand through his hair. "Okay Lee, this one should be easy…"

There's a tense silence this time, all waiting on Lee. "Seven!"

"C'mon, Lee! Just three more!" Chouji stood up once more. Naruto gave his chubby friend a small smile before turning back to the brunette. Then he got distracted as he heard a rustle behind him.

"There's no way we could fail now!" He watched as Kiba smirked, getting up from leaning on his dog. "Isn't that right, Akamaru?" A bark was his answer. Naruto took it that he was agreeing.

This time, as he turned back to the leader of the group, Naruto's smirking. Kiba's right, there's no way Lee would fail because if he did, he'd probably tell himself that he needed to run 600 laps around the entire field, then do some more training, as punishment.

Pumping his fist into the air, Naruto cheered his youthful teammate on, "You have this Lee! There's nothing that can stop you!"

"Eight." A smile appeared on Shikamaru's face. Naruto thought it's because of the faith the three of them have in the other ninja.

The smile then disappeared as the look of horror crawled across his face. "Wait. What was that?!" Silence stumbled into the four boys (and dog) as three of them waited for something, anything, to happen. "Neji, where is he?" As Shikamaru said this, he got into his bag and took out another walkie-talkie, throwing it to Naruto, who quickly put it on.

"-southwest… He needs help, now!" Neji's voice could be heard in the ear piece, sounding urgent. Naruto turned back to Shikamaru, silently asking what's going on.

"Tch. I knew this wasn't all going to be easy. Turns out, after getting the eighth one, a trap was activated. I need you to get there as fast as you can," Shikamaru sent Naruto a meaningful look, "and take out whatever it is that's blocking Lee's way. All Neji said was that it was living and huge with a lot of chakra.

"If you keep heading southwest from here, you should be able to find him no problem. And remember; do _not_ touch any of the seals! Activated or deactivated. Got it?" Naruto gave Shikamaru a curt nod before dashing off, southwest from the spot they were standing in.

"How much time do we have left?" Lee's voice screamed into his ear as he heard him panting. A small whoosh could be heard afterwards. '_Sounds like Lee's having trouble, no wonder Neji sounded desperate._'

"Only seventeen seconds. Naruto, you're almost there." Hearing this, Naruto gained more speed, hoping they'll get the ninth seal in time.

A huge bang could be heard ahead of him, and then a small wind picked up. Getting closer, he could hear the grunts, not only in the ear piece, but also close by. A tree branch rustled nearby then he found himself in a tiny clearing with a huge… thing… in front of him.

Without taking a second to analyze his opponent, knowing that they were limited on time, he attacked it. Using two kunai, he threw them at it, trying to get its attention. It worked.

"Lee! Go and get the seal! I got this big brute!" In the distance he heard an "Okay, thanks Naruto-kun!" then he was left alone.

Now that he knew that he could take his time, he used it to look the enemy up and down. A few seconds of analysis had him at the conclusion that it looked like an anorexic star. Sharp, even. It couldn't be any taller than six meters, maybe even seven. The arms and legs looked like the shuriken points, only skinnier. And the head looked like a butcher knife. This was not something you would want to mess with.

Before he could even come up with a plan, Naruto dodged out of the way. Not long after, wind picked up once more as an aftereffect. He tucked and rolled back into a fighting stance. The anorexic star got back up as it pulled its head out of the ground where it tried to slice Naruto in half, vertically.

This time, Naruto looked at his opponent more carefully. His fleeting gaze stopped as it shot back to a red dot, the size of an egg, right at the base of its 'neck'.

Sticking a hand into his back pouch, Naruto took out two shuriken, throwing one at the red dot. It was easily deflected, though. Instead of being put out, Naruto smirked, loving the challenge. He threw the other one at the dot and headed up into the trees above.

As he's hiding, he heard Shikamaru come in. "He's got the ninth one!" Wow, and he didn't even hear Neji give Lee the rest of the directions. "Naruto, how are you doing?"

"Fine, just going to finish this bastard off then I'll head back over!"

"Okay, see you in a bit."

"Be careful, Naruto." Sakura told him as he crouched onto the branch.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"…Okay." He smirked as he was once again concentrating on the star below.

Tying a few explosion notes to his kunai, Naruto threw one at it. The kunai got deflected to the ground right under the star thing. As the explosion was about to go off, he threw two more in the ground right by it, an idea coming to mind. Getting out his last kunai, he jumped off the branch toward the enemy. The first explosion went off, then the next two.

The distraction was perfect. He's about to reach the dot before a rip was heard but he ignored it as his kunai embedded itself into the center of the red dot. An eerie quiet came to his attention before he heard soft beeps. His eyes widened in realization and he leapt off of the monster, backwards. At the last second, he covered his face.

Then everything happened at once. Naruto got the wind knocked out of him as he was blown away by the explosion of the anorexic star, then he's falling to the ground. As this was happening, Shikamaru started talking. Naruto couldn't hear it as he fell straight to the ground. The loud crash that he made sent everyone with a walkie-talkie into panic mode. Everyone began yelling, wondering if he was okay.

He weakly told them he's alright before slowly standing up. He began his trek back to the others but stopped. Looking down he grabbed his stomach. An unwelcome feeling overrode him as he started his walk again. After awhile, he shook it off. No use dwelling on it, he had other things to do.

With the Akatsuki in mind, he sprinted off into the trees. Finally feeling back to normal after a couple seconds, he tried to contact the others.

"Hey, how's everything over there!" Naruto wondered if he worried everyone with the way all four ninja who had walkie-talkies on them sighed in relief.

Shikamaru began his brief explanation. "Lee already got the ninth seal, and is almost here to get the tenth. He has twelve seconds left before time is up."

Neji picked up afterwards. "At the rate you are going, you should be here in around twenty seconds. So make sure you come prepared for battle because we won't wait for you."

"Gee, thanks guys." Naruto said sarcastically, smirking as he heard a small chuckle from Neji.

"Just make sure you get here soon." Shikamaru spoke up again.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll be there really soon." He sped up a bit, anticipating the battle. Naruto dodged around another branch and found himself back into the flat grounds where everyone else was. As he's running, he could see the others getting bigger and bigger.

With three seconds to spare, Naruto watched Lee jump on the side of the entrance and rip off the last seal. Not long after, Sakura charged up and ran straight at the boulder blocking the entrance, punching it with all that she's got.

Roving his eyes to the others, he could see Kiba and Akamaru jumping up and down, screaming for him to hurry up. Then, everyone moved to hide as they waited for the dust to clear.

After a few seconds, Naruto was back at the rock he was hiding behind before, arriving earlier than Neji expected.

He noticed how Kiba chanced his eyes his way for a mere second, then doing a double take. The blonde got a little squirmy under his friend's gaping stare before finally talking.

"What?"

Kiba quickly recovered. "Dude, what happened to the scars on your face?"

Naruto didn't waste a second as his hands flew up to his cheeks, eyes wide in panic. Not feeling any indent on his cheeks whatsoever, only smooth skin, Naruto hastily lifted his shirt up. He used some of his chakra to show the seal on his stomach, hoping against all hope that it's still there.

It's there, to Naruto's relief, but the color seemed to have changed. Instead of the usual black, the color switched to a bluish-purple. His eyes also caught another difference in the seal.

Before he had the chance to analyze it further, the dust cleared and he noted how it became really quiet once more. Not too far away, he saw Neji and Sakura behind another rock with Lee lying on the ground, chest heaving. Neji was trying to look into the black cave with his byakugan.

Then, to Naruto's astonishment, he signaled everyone to move in. Not wasting any more time, they jumped towards the entrance. Neji and Naruto both look from the left and right sides of the opening, respectfully. Suddenly, Naruto whipped out his kunai, blocking an oncoming projectile from within the cave.

It was as if the deflected senbon needle fell in slow motion because as soon as it hit the ground, everything happened after the big bang.

Naruto and his team covered their faces as they were flown back from the entry way. Landing awkwardly on the ground, Naruto peaked over his arms to find a huge pile of rocks where the cave used to be. Although he really wished he could sit there and recover a little longer, he couldn't. He and his teammates quickly got up and into position, waiting for the first strike.

At last, the first to attack was one of the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki member sent a flying white object towards Naruto but it was intercepted by a raging white dog that swatted it away. Not long after, the white… bird… exploded. Looking back at the person who sent the bird, Naruto wracked his brain for the name.

He had long blonde, one eye covered, and Naruto distinctly remembered he's big in art, clay bombs being his specialty. Though, he couldn't remember the guy's name! Dan… David… Die… Deidara! Yeah, that's it. There's another guy behind him with a swirl on his mask.

Eventually, Naruto turned his back on those two fighting; Kiba and Akamaru seemed to be up to par with their opponents, dodging most of the blows. He watched as the others go into battle. Shikamaru was fighting against this guy with pale blonde hair that's slicked back. His weapon looked like one of a shinigami.

Neji's fighting against… a plant? Oh, wait! There's someone inside it. Naruto turned away quickly from the strange sight. Now, he was faced with Lee and the shark dude he could never remember the name of, no matter how many times he's threatened by him.

Then the last two fights were with Sakura against a blue haired woman…was that a flower in her hair? And Chouji was against this tall guy with a mask covering the bottom part of his face.

As he rotated around once more he found himself face to face with a weasel. Not literally, of course. A few meters away stood the older version of Sasuke.

Uchiha Itachi.

Making sure not to look into the other's sharingan eyes, or the fingers that would point to him, Naruto got ready for his battle.

Then their fight began.

Naruto charged in with a kunai in hand but didn't attack as he disappeared from sight before he reached his enemy. Then he reappeared behind Itachi and sliced through him, only to find a few seconds later that Itachi used Kawarimi no jutsu.

Before he was able to cover himself again, a blow was landed on his cheek, sending him flying into the pile of rocks that used to be the cliff. Ignoring the ache in his head, he could feel a small tug in his stomach. Naruto dismissed it as he slowly got up. He disappeared once more as he quietly used his Kage bunshin no jutsu. He created two clones, sending one to distract Itachi for awhile.

Hoping that Itachi wouldn't see through it so quickly, Naruto used his other clone to create his Rasengan. The blonde notices quickly how his chakra level was lower than normal. He tried not to dwell on that as he went all out on creating the Rasengan. However, he didn't get to finish it as a punch was sent to his stomach. He doubled over as he released the two bunshins.

"Weak." He heard Itachi's voice before he was kicked into the rubble once more. This time the pain in his stomach redoubled. He could hear the quiet footsteps of the S-class ninja. Naruto quietly lied on the rocks, waiting for the other to come closer. Right when Itachi walked in front of him, Naruto jumped up, ignored the excruciating pain in his stomach, and punched the Uchiha in the nose.

Naruto put his hand on his stomach as he watched Itachi skid back into a boulder, vanishing afterwards. He vaguely wondered in the back of his mind why he couldn't summon as much chakra as usual. Before he could register what he was doing, Naruto sent a kick behind him. His foot collided with a taut stomach.

"You haven't seen anything yet." He answered, watching the older Uchiha fly back. Said ninja slowly got up to a kneeling position, and then Naruto couldn't see him any more. Sensing something from his right, the blonde side jumped to his left, trying to avoid any strikes. Though it didn't work as he was blown away with one of the Katon's the Uchiha's were famous for.

His back hit a huge rock, being pushed up by the oncoming flames. When the flames finished, he slumped to the ground. As time wore on, his midsection felt like it was getting torn in two.

The Kyuubi holder didn't notice the Akatsuki member before he was lifted off the ground by the collar. He was shoved against the boulder again. Naruto punched the other in the face once more, following up with a knee to the stomach. Itachi loosened his grip and Naruto took this chance to hold onto the other's wrist. Using as much chakra he could, Naruto mustered up enough chakra in his right hand to make a Rasengan.

Naruto tightened his grip on the struggling wrist before shoving the smaller than usual Rasengan into Itachi's stomach. Letting go of the wrist, Itachi flew back into another boulder.

Without any support to hold him up, Naruto fell to the ground, facing up to the sky. There was no way he could fight anymore. No matter how much he detested giving up, he had no other choice; he couldn't move one single bit. It's as if his chakra evaporated into thin air.

Darkness began to creep up on him, his stomach on fire. Movement of rocks was heard; he knew that it was Itachi getting up once more. Naruto attempted to move his limbs but that was proven a useless struggle. Before he lost all sense of space, he noticed the boulder he once was up against began to come closer to him.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

oOo

_To Be Continued…_

oOo

**OMG!! I actually finished the first chapter! I can't believe it! O.O**

**Thanks for reading the first chapter and please review!! I need some feedback! And let me know how I did on the fights because it was my first time writing fight scenes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****/pouts/ Stop teasing… I don't own Naruto.**

**Warnings****: Slight Yaoi/Shounen-ai mentioning, not a lot. Um.. I guess if you haven't read the manga at all then you won't know some of the stuff in here.**

**YATTA!!! Another chappie! Thanks for your reviews! Not much else to say other than… Onward to the fic!!**

oOo

Naruto winced as he slowly regained consciousness. Without even opening his eyes, he could tell he was lying on the forest floor; from the feel of the dirt and grass beneath him to the smell of the as the wind blew by.

He could also tell that he's not with his teammates nor was he anywhere close to the Akatsuki battle. But, the problem was that he didn't remember going anywhere after his fight. In fact, all he remembered was the rock falling towards him, then… nothing.

So, what happened after that?

Opening his eyes, he found a canopy of leaves and branches overhead and confirmed that yes, he was in the forest. He slowly sat up, arms supporting him from behind while he leaned back. Something didn't feel right.

Scrunching his face in confusion, he looked down at his stomach. He shifted his weight onto one hand as he took his other hand to gently lie on top of his cloth covered abdomen- not paying mind to the state of said cloth.

It's almost like an… empty… feeling. As if it was there… but _not_, at the same time. Naruto never felt this before.

He didn't try to dwell on it too long. Instead, he stood up to take in more of his surroundings. All around him, trees were conveniently placed. Behind him off to the left, however, was some moss covered rocks taller than the trees.

Noise interrupted his inspections. His eyes roved to the left as more leaves ruffled. There's barely any chakra from what he could tell. An animal, maybe? He didn't move.

His eyes narrowed at the general area the noise came from. There were a few minutes of silence. Nothing moved and Naruto was becoming impatient.

Before he got the chance to move closer, a grayish-white blur flew out of hiding, heading towards him. In one quick move, his back was pressed against a tree as a kunai pointed at his chest.

The blonde blinked at the weapon a couple times. Then his gaze maneuvered up to the ninja gripping said weapon. He first glanced at the headband with the leaf symbol on the shinobi's forehead before redirecting his eyes on the face.

He did a double take.

A red vertical streak on either cheek just below the eye, the shaggy white hair, and that bulky nose… This could be none other than-

"Who are you and what village do you come from?" The white haired shinobi asked in a forceful tone. The kunai inched closer to Naruto's chest but he didn't notice. His eyes were wide in wonder as he stared at the young ninja in front of him- although not as young as Naruto himself was but young nonetheless.

Quickly regaining some piece of mind, Naruto began laughing, completely ignoring the question and the confused glare from the ninja. He calmed down soon enough, though a chuckle would escape here and there.

"Did you finally resign to asking Baa-chan for her secret jutsu so you could pick up all the ladies easier, Ero-senin?!" Naruto asks the perplexed man in front of him.

"Ero-? Riighht." Naruto caught the look the leaf nin sent him, and it wasn't a welcoming one. It was promptly replaced with a smile. "Well, how about I take you with me and we can have a nice talk."

It didn't take long for Naruto to understand the hidden message.

'_What? Does he think I'm drunk? That's a load of-_' The ninja who Naruto suspected to be his teacher disappeared from his vision only to come up again behind him. Not getting enough time to move away, as he still felt a bit weak from his exertion earlier with Itachi, the white haired man effortlessly tied Naruto's hands behind his back.

"Hey! What the-! Why'd you do that?!" He desperately tried to wriggle his way out, but to no avail.

"So you won't escape."

Naruto's eye twitched.

"Grrr! Did you even _see_ my forehead?!" Twisting around as much as he could, Naruto pointedly glared at the man behind him. Can't the guy see that he too was also a ninja from Konoha. Naruto could feel his anger rising.

His temper didn't waver one bit as he noticed the ninja holding back a laugh.

"Uh… it's very… smooth and… tan?" Naruto felt the other tap his forehead, wincing a bit as he wasn't expecting it. Then he stopped to realize that he wasn't wearing his forehead protector.

Naruto's eyes widen as he tried to remember what happened to it. He didn't even feel the shove from the shinobi for him to begin his trek.

Thinking back, Naruto replayed the battle with the Akatsuki. He remembered how Kiba mentioned something about his whiskers on his cheeks- he still needed to figure out the reason for that- but he didn't say anything about his headband.

Then there was the battle with Itachi…

Blue eyes widen in realization.

'_That's it! It must've fallen off as I was fighting the Uchiha! Damnit! Maybe it was when I slammed head first into that boulder…_' His thoughts trailed off. It won't help anyway as he wouldn't be able to find it.

Shoulders slouching, Naruto looked down at his feet trudging through the dirt, not bothering to take in his surroundings.

A few minutes of walking in silence led to a very agitated blonde. Finally, getting rid of his stubbornness, Naruto eyed the white haired man in askance. Said man eventually gave in and turned his way, raising his eyebrows.

Naruto answered his silent inquiry with his own question. "So, why _do_ you look like that?" Sadly, the ninja didn't pick up the sweeping gaze of his body from the smaller boy, instead opting to scowl.

"Blame my parents."

"Why would I blame your parents?"

"They're the ones that gave me the white hair." _Idiot_. The word was silently added on, neither of them denying its presence.

However, the blonde couldn't help but laugh at the older man's expense.

"No, no. I mean, why are you young?" The confusion lingered in both of their minds, although for different reasons.

"Out of all the questions I've ever been asked, I'd have to say that is the weirdest." A low chuckle escaped the dark eyed man.

"Well, you're usually older… I mean, what made you change your appearance?" For some reason, Naruto had a hard time explaining his question. He felt a bit uneasy, and the look he was getting, the one of being asked if he was right in the head, didn't help the unease.

"Do I know you?"

Now it was the blue eyed boy looking at the ninja like he was nuts. In the back of his mind, he was beginning to second guess his assumption of the shaggy haired ninja.

So he decided with the easy way and played it subtly.

"Yeah, we've seen each other here and there." Naruto would have waved his hand in indifference but remembered the rope around his wrists, deciding to shrug his shoulders while looking away. An act he learned from his boyfriend.

He was eyed warily before it was shrugged off. Naruto turned back to the older man, waiting for a reply.

"Hmph, the last time I changed my appearance was when I was 19 and that was to make the red lines on my cheeks streak all the way down to here." He pointed to his jaw. "Other than that, I got taller." Another shrug.

Naruto doubted the alibi and said so. "I'm sure that you had to have some kind of mid-life crisis getting a piercing or something once in your life time. I mean, it's such a _huge_ gap from the age of 19 to the age you are now."

They stopped walking along the path and Naruto dimly noticed that it's getting late.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm no where _close_ to getting a mid-life crisis. Plus, I don't think that a 7 year difference is that big of a gap." A sigh escaped his mouth before he continued. "Look, we're going to stop for the day. You're going to rest up while I keep watch so we could go by trees tomorrow. Hopefully by then you'll be able to move without a hassle." The white haired shinobi pointed to Naruto's legs.

The blonde's mouth gaped. "How'd yo-?"

"Before I made my appearance, I saw you lying down. It took you forever to get up." This was accompanied by a mocking chuckle.

A blush appeared on tan cheeks and he was about to retort before his mind recalled what was said earlier. "Wait. Did you say 7 years?" His answer was a nod. "Then, that makes you… 26 years old!"

"And that shocks you?"

Naruto stumbled over his words, eyes wide. "Y-yeah…"

The cerulean eyed boy faintly heard a small chuckle and small swish of hair moving side to side. "Whatever. Just get some sleep before I decide to carry you without the break."

Now he's certain that this person wasn't who he's thinking of. A small smile appeared on the now whiskerless face before Naruto obeyed to the instructions to go to sleep.

As if a small light bulb went off in his head, Naruto looked down at his attire to find it not in top form. His jacket was MIA and his black skintight shirt was practically shredded. His pants were almost as bad, only from the knees down.

Deciding to use some leaves instead of his jacket as a pillow, Naruto struggled to get the big clumps of dried leaves with his feet. He barely got the second clump with the first before the other ninja finished it for him.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep now. If you need me, I'll be right of here." He pointed to a nearby tree.

"Okay. Um…" Naruto stopped.

"What?"

"Can you… untie the rope?" The blonde hated how he never learned how to untie ropes.

The man shook his head. "No can do. I may trust ya a bit, but not enough to get rid of the rope." With that said, he turned away from Naruto, taking a seat in the spot by the tree mentioned earlier.

"Fine." Naruto grumbled. He plopped down to the ground and lied down on his side facing the shinobi. "By the way… what's your name?"

There's a slight pause before he got his answer.

"Jiraiya."

Naruto bolted up into a sitting position staring wide eyed at Jiraiya.

'Jiraiya' wasn't a common name so the chances of two Konoha ninja with white hair and red lined cheeks were slim to none. It still didn't make any sense as the one he knew was a 53 year old hermit who paraded around claiming he was a pervert and spied on women in the bathhouse! He should know, hanging around him so much!

Yes, Jiraiya was 53. It's a long story that involved alcohol, women, and a whole bunch of Rasengans on how he got that fact out of the old coot. In fact, it was only a couple of months ago when it happened.

But more to the point.

Jiraiya should not be a 26 year old ninja with abilities in top condition!

Instead of freaking out on what his mind was conjuring up, Naruto took a deep breath before asking as subtly as possible. "You don't, by any chance, have teammates that came out with you? It's pretty dangerous to be out here by yourself and…" He trailed off hoping Jiraiya would pick up what he was asking.

"Yeah, I got teammates. And no, they're not with me as I came out here by myself so I could get some extra medicinal herbs for one of my teammates to use on her patients." This baffled the blonde.

"Aren't the medic nins in training supposed to get those?"

"No, we need all of the medic nins, whether in training or not, to help heal the wounded." Naruto noted the puzzled face of the other ninja as if asking himself why he was telling a stranger vital information. Naruto was wondering the same thing but didn't question it.

"Why?"

The white haired man chuckled, finally looking at the blonde. "Like you don't know." The chuckle sounded a bit malicious as he continued. "This war hasbeen going on for years now. The war between the great five Shinobi Countries."

Naruto stared in astonishment at Jiraiya, slowly lying back down not even bothering to say goodnight. His mind was a complete mess as he tried to figure out where- no, when- he was. He decided to use Jiraiya's age, in his time, to start off.

Considering that the Third Secret World War started 25 years before his present and Jiraiya was 53, Jiraiya would be about 28 years old. But right now, he's only 26: two years before the war. The Second Secret World War didn't end until about two years before that.

He stayed like that, eyes open, for a long time, trying to piece it all together but it always ended up with one solution.

He, Uzumaki Naruto, was stuck 27 years in the past.

Oh, boy.

oOo

**Okay, okay. Before you complain I'd like to say that I would have had more in this chapter but I thought that that was a perfect place to end it. Besides, I think you guys need let this sink in before the next chapter as that one will be a complete shocker! …Along with other things yet to come… **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and PLEASE review! I know it wasn't a lot in this chapter but at least you got something! I need some reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer****: Just like I said in the last chapter. TT**

**Warnings****: Oh, and spoiler for those who aren't up to the latest chapter(s) in the Naruto manga (all the way to 367) even if it's a minor thing because as I said before, it's not going with the series. Um… yeah, don't forget to read the A/N at the bottom!**

**Thanks for the reviews and Enjoy!! **

**Key**

"**Talking"**

'_**Thinking**_**'**

_**Dreaming**_

oOo

It seemed Naruto finally fell asleep the night before. When he woke up the next morning, he found himself being poked on the head with something skinny and wooden. Memories of his first chuunin exams came to mind.

The stick prodded him some more before he finally opened his eyes to a disgruntled young Jiraiya poking him with a twig. He groaned in protest, rolling over, before recollections of the night before made him jump up, standing a little woozily.

"Mornin'." The white haired man mumbled as he walked back to the fire he made.

Naruto grunted in response, blearily staring at the man who woke him up with the stick of evil, trying to get used to the fact that he's in the past and had no clue how to get back.

He lazily stumbled to the fire as well, hoping to get some heat within his chilled body. Sitting crossed legged in front of the fire; Naruto would've brought his hands up but then remembered that they were tied behind his back so decided to sit a little closer to the orange and yellow blaze.

The heat trickled into his form, flowing inside him. He shivered slightly, closing his blue eyes in satisfaction. Both men sat in silence for a few minutes enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Well, at least one of them was. The other one was still in red alert.

Before Naruto fell asleep the night before, he finally concluded that it was all a dream, that he was over exhausted, and that the next time he woke up, he'd be back in his own bed. He would've woken up in a small apartment, as clean as the academy is empty on a Sunday, and had his daily ramen for breakfast. Then he'd have met up with his boyfriend of one month, sparred with him (which would usually end up in a make out session), and then go out to eat with him. Afterwards, he'd go back to his apartment and sleep, waking up the next morning to do that all over again. Or even go on a mission.

Being woken up with a stick by a 26 year old _sennin_, AKA Jiraiya, was not part of his daily routine. Heck, he didn't even think that it was possible to have such a thing on his list.

Oh, and the fact that he's also 27 years before his own time helped the fact that he was going completely insane!

Taking a deep breath, Naruto shifted his position so he'd be facing the older ninja. He didn't even try any pretense as he immediately got straight to the point.

"Are you sure you're 26?"

Jiraiya jumped, not expecting him to talk. "No, my parents lied to me and I'm actually in my 50's."

Naruto stared.

There was a sigh before Jiraiya spoke again. "I was joking, kid. Yes, I am really 26." Naruto looked away, trying to slow his fast beating heart. "Why are you so interested about my age anyway?" Noticing the suspicious stare, the 15 year old quickly tried to think of an excuse.

"I'm… curious?" It didn't convince him so Naruto explained. "Well, I think it's just… different… you look older," '_Way older'_, "than your actual age."

The white haired man chuckled, stood up and moved over to a nearby tree. "I get that a lot. Usually they say that I look 30 or something." Naruto coughed, it wasn't really what he had in mind. "I bet that's what you were thinking." Jiraiya took out a kunai and peeled off some bark from the tree before coming back to the fire and throwing said bark into it.

Naruto glanced up to the birds above, mindlessly commenting how pretty they were in his head. "Uh… yeah, sure. Let's go with that."

There was another silence in which Naruto silently cursed his luck.

This time the silence wasn't broken by Naruto and his unaccustomed-to-quiet mouth but by Jiraiya kicking the dirt into the fire. It diminished within seconds.

"We should be heading back to the village now." Dark chocolate eyes looked into azure ones as the latter wordlessly stood up in agreement.

"Lead the way."

oOo

Turned out that jumping from tree to tree, with your hands tied behind your back (and with depleted chakra), did not lead to good things. In fact, it didn't lead Naruto anywhere. It occurred to him when he first started his trek that it wouldn't be easy. Half way to Konoha, it really hit him; with a tree involved in the act, literally.

That's why now, with hands still tied, he was leaning against a muscular back, legs wrapped tightly around the waist of the same body, holding on for dear life.

"Hey! Loosen up on the legs down there! Any tighter and I might not be able to walk, let alone jump." Jiraiya grumbled loudly to the blonde on his back.

"Sorry." Naruto sent the white haired man a sheepish smile while loosening his lower legs. "It's just that usually whenever I'm getting a piggyback because of chakra depletion, I'm unconscious."

"Then go to sleep. You won't miss much." The Kyuubi container could hear the smirk coming from the other. Now that he mentioned it, Naruto could feel his eyes drooping a bit.

"But what if-"

"If anything goes awry, I promise I won't have the enemy kill you while you're asleep."

Naruto glared

Jiraiya's smirk widened. "I promise. Nothing will happen to you while you're asleep."

"Well, what if you get tired? You didn't sleep last night, did you." It was more of a statement than a question. Jiraiya confirmed it with a nod.

"Trust me. I'm no where close to being tired. Besides, I _was_ trained to get passed any obstacle that may get in the way of a mission." Not something Naruto didn't know with his own experience.

"Fine." He finally relented. "But I can't assure you that I'll actually fall asleep." Yeah right. Naruto knew that he'd be sleeping in no time. That didn't mean that the old ma- um… 26 year old needed to know that.

"Whatever…" That was the last thing Naruto heard before he succumbed to the overbearing sleep just around the corner.

oOo

_His body jostled a bit, losing his breath momentarily as he hit against another body. A well-built one at that. He could feel himself moving fast, yet, it wasn't his doing._

_Naruto slowly opened his eyes, keeping them at half mast. Trees were flying by making him dizzy. He tightly closed his eyelids before opening them once more, trying to catch his bearings. One tiny whiff gave him the answer of who was carrying him. Kakashi-sensei._

_But… how? He didn't remember him being around when… the azure eyes dull as the blonde remembered what had happened to get him this way; carried on the back of his mentor._

_Why?_

_Why did _he_ have to do this?_

_No, he knew the answer to that question. It's because _he_ thought that _he _was being held back. It's because _he_ thought that no one was good enough. That Naruto wasn't good enough._

_No, there's a better question._

_Why couldn't he stop _him

_That was a good one. He had an answer to it, too._

_He didn't have the strength. He was weak. He was a lowlife; a nobody. He could never live up to anyone's expectations. Though _he_ did._

He_ had the strength. _He_ wasn't weak. _He_ was worshipped; a somebody. Everyone looked up to _him_ and expected great things from _him_. In fact, _he_ could've easily killed Naruto. That was _his_ goal, wasn't it? Kill _his_ best friend?_

_Kill the only true bond _he_ had._

_But, what stopped _him_? At the last second of their final clash, _he_ lightened the blow to the chest. The strike was aimed right at his heart while Naruto was only able to scratch the only protection _he _had, the only representation that if something were to happen to _him, he_ would always have the village to back _him_ up. That scratch in the headband, the villagers' and ninjas' alike trust in _him_, were nothing compared to the chidori in the chest._

_The physical pain was nothing compared to that of an emotional one. It was a personal pain that only belonged to Naruto, and Naruto alone. It resided in his heart, and would stay there for years to come, shattered and broken. Though there was still life. Somewhere way deep, there was a small heartbeat. As if it knew that it wasn't the end and was waiting for that moment to come._

_The moment where he would meet _him_, again._

_As Kakashi carried Naruto back to Konoha to take him to the hospital, the blonde made a vow to himself. As long as it takes, be it suicidal or not, he would not give up._

_One day, he _would_ bring Sasuke back to him._

oOo

Naruto woke up abruptly as he sat up, looking for something that may have caused such a wake up call. The only thing he noticed was that his cheek hurt, badly. Trying to move his hand up to his cheek, he stopped. His mind registered that both of his hands were tied together before his eyes landed on the man in front of him.

The man was giving him a scrutinizing look.

"Why'd you slap me!?" Jiraiya stood back as Naruto yelled, rubbing his pinkie in his ear to see if he lost his hearing.

"You were whimpering." He simply stated.

"Huh?"

"You know. As in, like a dog. It sounded really pathetic." Jiraiya smirked down at Naruto.

The blonde just blankly stared at the man a few feet away before recalling what his dream was about. He blushed, trying to figure out what brought that memory out. It was years ago when it happened. Err… in Naruto's time.

Jiraiya didn't seem to notice Naruto's silence as he continued. "I also woke you up because we're at the gates." It took a minute for Naruto to understand.

"Oh!" Getting up, the younger ninja followed the older onto the dirt road leading to the front gates of Konoha. A couple minutes later, Naruto found himself standing in front of said gates. Though, on closer inspection, they looked a little worn, as if they were attacked not long ago.

"It's because of the war." Naruto shifted his gaze over to Jiraiya who was looking at him. "Just a few weeks ago we got ambushed by Suna nins. They're gone now, ran off a couple days after the attack." The younger version of Jiraiya looked solemnly at the gates.

"Sand…" This was all Naruto could come up with, a million questions coming to mind though he knew that he couldn't voice it. For once, he didn't try to interrupt the silence that invaded their space. He accepted it as the older ninja mourned for those they may have lost because of this legendary war.

The war that would eventually be known as the Second Secret World War.

Snapping out of his musings, Naruto noticed one of the guards that appeared in front of Jiraiya. They talked for about a minute but he couldn't get much out of it. Only "Hokage will…" and "Suspicious at all…" was heard before Jiraiya turned back to the blonde, waving at Naruto to follow him.

They entered through the now open gates, Naruto soon stopped dead in his tracks.

It was the aftermath of his first chuunin exams all over again!

Villagers all over the place! Women fixing decorations, men rebuilding ruined stores and houses, and children cleaning up the trash on the ground. Then there were the ninja who were patrolling the streets during the village's time of vulnerability. No chances would be taken, war was ruthless. No one would be safe.

Without pausing in his steps to what he assumed to be the Hokage tower, Naruto looked up at the sky, expecting rain to befall on the saddened village. Yet none came. It was as bright and sunny as the day before.

"Watch out!" Before he could react, Naruto was pulled by his arm, roughly. Seconds later a loud clash of a filled can sounded to his left and blue splattered all around him. Unfortunately, it landed on him too.

Looking over to the scene of the crime, the blonde found a dented can of paint rolling back and forth as it finally settled down and blue paint covered the ground nearby. His pants weren't that bad as blue dots specked along the lower half.

After a long silence of his inspection, Naruto tilted his head up to where the paint can came from. A guy in his early 30's standing on the ladder had a sheepish expression on his face. Naruto glared.

"Sorry." Once again the whiskerless teen got roughly pulled. He redirected his glare to Jiraiya, the puller, who glared right back, a warning glare. A silent debate broke loose between the two men until, finally, Naruto sighed.

"Just be careful next time." He answered, shrugging off the apology as if none of it mattered. Not wanting to stay much longer, Naruto headed down to where he thought the Hokage tower would be, if it was the same as in the future. Soon, he could hear fast footsteps coming from behind. Knowing it's only Jiraiya, he acknowledged him with a curt nod.

"It looked like you were going to loose it back there, squirt." Naruto's eye twitched; somehow, 'brat' seemed so much better. Jiraiya continued without a pause. "Well, that's all in the past now. Besides, we're going to go meet the Hokage to see what we should do with you."

"Won't I be put in prison or something?" Naruto stared quizzically at the other man.

"For what?"

"Well, I'm not exactly part of this village," '_Well, technically I am…_' Naruto mentally chuckled. "and I'm not really here for mission requests which makes me something like an outsider."

"Hmm, true. But, according to you, you didn't know about this war, right?"

"Right…"

"Everyone who lives in the five shinobi countries knows about this war, leading me to believe that you aren't from any of those countries. So, you aren't a threat." The last sentence was stated bluntly. "We'll just have to see what the Hokage says of your status in this village."

Naruto thought about all the possible outcomes of his meeting with the current Hokage the rest of the way to the tower.

oOo

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Jiraiya banged loudly on the doors in front of him that lead to the Hokage's quarters, to Naruto's relief. At least something was familiar. A short while after the loud knocks were created by the young sennin, a recognizable voice from the other side answered.

"Come in, Jiraiya."

Why couldn't Naruto place it? He drew a blank as to whom the voice belonged to. It bugged him that such a familiar voice couldn't conjure a picture in his mind.

After Jiraiya opened the doors, they stepped inside. To Naruto, this room in the future looked almost like the one he's in now, only a bit more updated on the Hokage frames on the wall. It was quite messy with all the paperwork lying around everywhere though it was understandable as this war seemed to bring stress to even the most powerful of ninja.

Naruto swept his eyes around the room one last time before settling on the person sitting in the Hokage's chair.

And he gasped.

The person sitting behind the cluttered desk was none other than the third Hokage himself. Although Naruto should have figured that out just by the series of events that were happening now, he never realized that the Hokage would've been the one he knew from his childhood, albeit younger looking. Instead of the balding, grey hair and wrinkles beyond compare, he now had a full head of spiky brown hair and a young, smooth face. Though, it was nice to see that the beard was the same in the past as it was in the future, despite it now being brown.

"What brings you to my office, Jiraiya?" Naruto awkwardly shifted on his feet as the older man stared at him intently.

"As you can see, it's about this kid," The blonde silently glared at Jiraiya at the insult, "right next to me. Like I have been, I was looking for new herbs for the medical ninja when I found him lying in the woods 30 kilometers southwest of here."

Steadily, the Sandaime shifted his gaze to his student. Naruto slumped his shoulders as if a weight has been lifted.

"So, why did you bring him here?" Young Sarutobi asked Jiraiya, skeptically.

Said sennin paused before shrugging his shoulders. "Not exactly sure. I thought I'd question him; see what he was doing lying down unawares in the war zone." He shrugged once again as if saying that it was no big deal. Not only was the Third eyeing him but Naruto joined in as he too was curious about the white haired man's thinking. "He didn't seem to be any harm and so I decided to bring him here to see what you'd like to do with him."

Naruto quietly tch'd at the ninja's weird ways. '_Whether he is young or old, he'll still have his lame ass excuses. Kind of reminds me of someone…_' But he wasn't complaining. Whatever worked, worked. He just wished that the final decision didn't involve dying.

"Hmm… And what did you get out of him?"

"He didn't have any clue that there was a war going on and that… he's a bit…" Jiraiya whispered the last part while twirling his finger next to his head.

Naruto growled. "I am not!"

"Then what was with the questionings about my age and then about some old hag and an… 'ero-sennin', was it?..." Jiraiya quiped.

Growling once more, the blonde snapped back. "That's not my fault. I was still thinking about…" He trailed off.

"Go on." The man behind the desk encouraged him.

"Um… I was… thinking about the people from… my village… very far away…" Naruto noticed the expressions on the other two's faces and tried to elaborate. Not thinking of anything, blue eyes moved rapidly around the room, trying to find something to help him out. Nothing helped so he looked back up at the Hokage, remembering the same Hokage from his younger years. How the old man always helped him out in times of need after an incident with the villagers and played with him whenever he was lonely…

Naruto's eyes lit up. "The same village I ran away from."

"And… why did you run away?" Sandaime prompted him once more when he noticed that Naruto won't be continuing.

Now, Naruto was stuck. What was there to say to that? He couldn't just say he had no choice because he was sent 27 years in the past. No, that'd make him sound crazy and prove that Jiraiya was right, which he's not.

'_I could always tell them _half_ the truth._' The blonde couldn't believe how many great ideas he's been coming up with lately.

Avoiding any eye contact and placing a frown on his face, Naruto told his small tale. "Well, since I was young, as far back as I could remember, I was looked down upon by the villagers for something I had no control over. I tried through the years to keep trying to prove my innocence but I failed." He added a small sniffle for effect. "As years went by, the colder they became. So, eventually, I decided to try to get out of there. The plan went without a hitch and I traveled for weeks until I reached the place Jiraiya-san found me at."

Naruto tried not to fidget under the scrutinizing stare sent his way. There were a couple minutes of silence in which Naruto went over the many outcomes of this meeting once more. Finally, the leader of the village spoke up, leaning back in his chair as he did so.

"I guess this means that I'd have no choice but to make you a resident of our very own Hidden Leaf Village." Naruto's head shot up in shock to face the Hokage, no, _his_ Hokage, now. "We'll need to forge some paper work to show that you've lived here since birth. How old are you?"

"F-fifteen." Naruto answered in disbelief.

"Right. That'll be the only background information that'll be the same. The rest will have to be made up in case of trackers from the village you're from." He stood up, walking around the desk to stand in front of Naruto. "If you'd like, you could keep your first name and change your surname."

Naruto thought about it. Would it be possible to keep his first name without conclusions to be drawn in the future? Well, from what he knew of, there was no 'Naruto' during this time, nor anytime before he was born.

"No, I want a different first name. Could you also do me a favor?"

"And what would that be?"

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya. "This is for you, too." He received a nod before continuing. "I don't want you two to ask me what my real name is, if that's okay with you, sir." Naruto added the last part for the older ninja.

Said older ninja nodded in agreement, Jiraiya soon followed, before continuing. "Now, about your name…"

"You can pick it, if you want." Naruto added in quickly.

"Alright." Sarutobi glided back to his seat, grabbing a pen as he sat down. Opening a drawer, his hand disappeared before coming back up with papers in hand. Naruto soon realized that they were documents for his admittance to Konoha. "From now on, you'll be known as…" He trailed off as he wrote down two words on the top sheet of paper.

"…Namikaze… Minato."

oOo

**/Sigh/ I wish I could see all of your faces right now. It'd be nice to know. But I bet most of you are confused. Oh well, in time it'll all come together but right now I'd like for all of you to review and tell me how you liked this chapter! XD I gotta tell you though, I LOVED writing this chapter! Especially the ending! There was one reviewer who was thinking something like this would happen so I congratulate them on such a great guess!!**

**Also, I made this chapter longer because A) It wouldn't stop growing, and B) I felt bad for the short chapter last time. So there you go!**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer****: I don't own squat!**

**Warnings****: Well, I really shouldn't be giving these anymore. If you're still reading this even after the past warnings then that means that you like yaoi and are caught up in the manga. Other than that, I got nutin.**

**Thank you, everyone, for all of the reviews/waves/ Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy!**

**Key**

"Talking"

'_Thinking_'

**Flashback**

oOo

"**What's so funny, Ero-sennin?" Naruto placed his glass on the table.**

**Jiraiya chuckled some more, shaking his head. "Nothing, brat."**

"**Grr. Don't call me brat!"**

"**Then don't call me Ero-sennin."**

**Silence prevailed until Naruto asked the same question as before.**

**There was a slight pause before Jiraiya answered.**

"**Just my mind playing tricks on me, that's all."**

"**How so?"**

**The sennin took a sip from his own glass.**

"**For a second there, I thought I saw him."**

Naruto stared wide eyed at the Hokage. He tried forming the two words on his mouth but they wouldn't get passed his tongue. There was just no way… that name wouldn't work… it couldn't be done.

It was all a big mistake.

"B-but… I _can't_ use that name… _I_ can't use that name…" His mind was in overload. No thoughts were coming out right as he desperately tried to straighten them out. In the back of his mind, Naruto noticed that the two other men were looking at him weird, as if he didn't make any sense. Maybe he didn't. Naruto wasn't sure.

Distressed. That's what he was. Thoughts were jumping from one to the other.

"**He who?" The blonde leaned over the table, waiting for the story that was sure to come.**

**However, Jiraiya gave him a speculated stare. A few minutes of heavy silence passed between them before the older one abruptly stood up.**

"**C'mon." Nothing else was said as Jiraiya left the restaurant, knowing Naruto would follow. The kitsune didn't disappoint. Routinely, Naruto slapped some cash onto the table and raced out of the restaurant.**

"**Who's 'he'? And where are we going?" He caught up with the white haired man.**

"**We're getting out of the vicinity of eavesdroppers."**

"**Why?"**

"**So I could answer your other question." Naruto didn't say anymore along the way, knowing that whatever Jiraiya told him, wasn't something to fool around with.**

"What's wrong with that name?"

Naruto focused onto the hard, questioning stare from the leader of the village. With great difficulty, he formed some words together to get one coherent sentence out.

"W-what about the person who already has that name?" His voice came out shaky, eyes roving back down to the wooden floor. He missed the eye exchange between sensei and pupil.

"Do you know of someone with that name?" Jiraiya finally spoke up.

Naruto's eyes hardened. Blue orbs searched two sets of brown.

"Don't you?" He countered back at the older men. Without hesitation, Sarutobi answered.

"If I were to know of such a person with that name, I would never give it to another." The Hokage took out a pipe from behind the wooden desk and lit it with an air of easiness. He took a puff before continuing. "From the looks of things, you may have heard this name before."

"**Take a seat." Jiraiya patted the ground next to where he sat, a few meters away from the ledge of the mountain.**

**With the caution of being offered candy from an enemy (to which you should never take, **_**ever**_**!), Naruto sat next to the sennin. The blonde eyed him warily, not trusting what would be coming out of the older one's mouth.**

"**Before I begin talking, I want you to promise me that you won't tell anybody, no matter the circumstances, what I'm about to tell you." Naruto received an once-in-a-lifetime serious glare. The fifteen year old jounin gave him a curt nod with a grunt of confirmation. "Okay. You know of the Yondaime, am I right?"**

**Unconsciously, Naruto's hand was laid on top of his stomach. For a few seconds he looked at the ground, recalling all that he knew of the Fourth, though it wasn't a lot.**

**Jiraiya continued when he knew that Naruto was paying attention again.**

"**You probably know him as the great hero who saved his village from a monster," Naruto flinched, "and sealed it into a baby. But, I bet you never knew that the baby he sealed the nine-tails in was his."**

**Naruto played with that last sentence in his head. No noise was made as one let the information sink in and the other waited for the outcome. Then, as if he was punched in the stomach, Naruto's eyes opened impossibly wide.**

**Quietly, he stood up from his seat. Walking closer to the ledge, the blonde stared out into the horizon. The wind tousled the bright strands of hair.**

**He couldn't believe it. The person who sealed the Kyuubi into him, the same person he looked up to and envied was also his… father.**

**The hand that was on his stomach moved up to his heart. It was beating erratically. Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself. After calming down, he turned back to his sensei of three years.**

The blonde blinked. "Y-yeah. I have, but he was from before my time."

Another puff of smoke. "I see." Naruto watched the older man as said man made more puffs of smoke from the pipe, thinking. "Now, it's up to you, but would you like to change your name to something else?"

If Naruto were another person, he'd have fumbled around with his thumbs as he thought. Unfortunately, or fortunately in some cases, Naruto wasn't another person. Instead, he did what he usually did when asked life-changing questions.

It probably wasn't a good thing to be such an impulsive person.

"No."

The one hand that wasn't holding the pipe lifted from Sandaime's lap. It grabbed the pen that was lying on top of the documentations but before the pen could leave its mark, it froze in place.

"You are positive about this. We cannot change this once it is written." Naruto bit his lip, using this second chance to actually think about it. Then, he finished his thinking.

**Jiraiya stood up as well, facing his student.**

"**What was it?" Naruto asked, staring at the old man's feet. Slowly, his gaze redirected itself to the unsteadying gaze of his teacher. "What was my father's real name?"**

**He's the son of a great shinobi. He deserved to know what his father's real name was. No child should call their parent by a title that is common amongst all. They should deserve a title for their parent of their own. But to deserve such a thing, they should know their parent in their own way.**

**Naruto could not call the Yondaime his 'dad' until he knew his real name. It'll be a start on his search of getting to know his father.**

"**You're father's name was…"**

The quiet stationed itself within the office for a full minute. Then the scratching of a pen on paper could be heard. When the Hokage finished writing the name down, he looked back up at Naruto, full in the face.

"Young man, you are now officially known as…" The scene before Naruto changed as his thoughts came forth. Sarutobi did not sit in the Hokage's desk anymore, in fact, the desk wasn't there anymore. The background of the office changed to the same ledge of a mountain he remembered being on a few months back. And there taking the Hokage's place was none other than Jiraiya as his own ero-sennin self.

"**Namikaze Minato."**

oOo

'_How?_'

An hour after the meeting and Naruto still couldn't find the answer. Nothing seemed to add up. Sure, he could understand that he now belonged to the hidden leaf village; to serve as a ninja and protect the others within the borderline walls. That's nothing new to him. Of course, he'd have to go through all the ranks like his first time but that's also understandable as he's new to the hidden leaf, or so they thought.

No, what he couldn't understand was how he could have the same name as his own father. That's something worth thinking about and Naruto planned on getting to the bottom of it, no matter how little the information may be in this generation.

Naruto's eyes caught onto an empty bench off to his right. His automated feet took him over to it and he sat down, arms splayed along the back of the bench on each side of him. He looked up at the blue sky. For the past hour the blonde strolled around the park just thinking about the events that only happened in two days time.

'_Wow. It's amazing what two days could change._' Just yesterday morning, Naruto could remember eating his ramen before his big mission- the one that involved the Akatsuki.

The sound of a crow interrupted his thoughts of ramen. Instead of going back to his thoughts, Naruto decided to take a break from the problem and take in his surroundings. It's nice to indulge yourself in historic places every once in awhile, even if it won't be historical for a few years or so.

Turned out, the park of this time was practically the same as the one in his time, though his favorite slide wasn't around yet. People of all ages were gathered into the park on this beautiful day. No ninjas, sadly, as they were busy with the war. Kids big and small all played on the playground. Teens and grownups in love coupled together, enjoying their time together. Even mothers with babies came to gossip as the babies played on the grass.

A small smile spread across Naruto's face. It was one of contentment and remorse. Families always had him wondering what it would've been like if his parents were still around but seeing other people with the one's they love got Naruto sentimental.

Though, he'd be caught dead to ever saying something so sappy out loud.

Suddenly, out of no where, a shiny object was hurled at his head. Luckily, with fast reflexes, Naruto ducked out of the way and the object embedded itself into the tree behind him, instead. Looking back at the poor, defenseless tree, a kunai was wedged within the bark. He turned back into the direction from where the weapon came from.

Other than the grey haired toddler (grey?!) standing a few meters away, no one was within the surrounding area that had the possibility of throwing the kunai. With one more visual sweep, he concluded his observation. Blue orbs landed onto dark brown ones that looked almost grey. Naruto approached the little tyke and squatted down to the boy's level.

"Hey there, fella. You wouldn't happen to see who threw that sharp weapon over there, would you?" Naruto asked in a kind voice.

The little boy nodded his head with wide, innocent eyes. Then his eyes crinkled as a wide grin spread across his face. Why did that gesture seem so familiar?

Naruto eyed the boy before asking a new question. "May I know who it was?" This time the toddler pointed his index finger at his chest. "_You_ did?" Somehow, Naruto couldn't believe it. The kid nodded, to his dismay, and even closed his eyes as the grin grew.

"Tell me, kid, how old are you?" Said kid stopped showing his pearly whites to look at his fingers as if counting. Then, he shoved his hand into Naruto's face holding two fingers up. "Two?" Another nod in confirmation from the boy. "Wow. For a two year old you have pretty good aim." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with his head as he chuckled. After awhile, he stopped, noticing the toddler wasn't laughing. "So… can you talk at all?"

There was one more nod and for the first time during their conversation, he talked. "Mommy says I can't tawk to stwangers." Naruto blinked.

'_Heh. Smart kid._' "We don't have to be. My name's Na-" He stopped, correcting himself. "Uh… I mean, Minato. The name's Minato." Naruto held out his hand, hoping the kid would accept the handshake.

The grin was back on the boy's face in a flash. "Hi, Mwinato! You want to be fwends?!"

Naruto chuckled under his breath. The kid was cute. "Sure! But before that you need to tell me your name."

"Yay!" Before Naruto could prepare himself, he was attacked as the little one hugged him tight around his chest- he was still crouching down. He fell back on his bottom. Just as the hug was initiated, it disappeared and the pressure replaced itself onto his hand. The grey haired boy tried to pull the blonde up so they could go play on the playground. Naruto helped him out as he pulled himself up and followed the excited boy.

"My name is Kakashi!"

To say that Naruto wanted to cry was an understatement.

oOo

After a half hour of inner turmoil, Naruto promised that from now on, he wouldn't get surprised no matter the cause of it. He figured that meeting his sensei as a two year old _and_ without a mask was something no one could beat.

'_I wonder why he wears that mask when he's older, anyway…?_' Naruto grabbed hold of the edge of the swing and pushed again. Kakashi's laugh of delight had Naruto smiling. It was nice to know that _he_ was the cause of laughter- in a good way; especially out of an innocent kid. As the swing came back, he pushed it once more.

The blonde gazed at the sky. It was getting dark out and he knew that it wouldn't be long before one of Kakashi's parents came to get him. That brought out a sad smile. He couldn't deny the fact that he had fun with the little tyke, even if it was only for a half an hour. Speaking of which…

"Kakashi!" Ah, so that's where Kakashi got his grey hair from. A man no older than 30 came walking up to the pair. Naruto held onto the swing as it came back his way and physically placed the swing into its resting position. Kakashi hopped off of it and ran over to his father, glomping him around the waist as he approached the older man.

"Daddy! Wook! Wook! I made a new fwend! His name is Mwinato!" A small chuckle escaped the man's mouth before he looked Naruto's way. A smile adorned the grey haired man's face, and then he picked up his son, throwing him on top of his shoulders. He approached Naruto. Then, to Naruto's surprise, he held out his hand. With no hesitation, Naruto shook it.

"Thanks for playing with little Kakashi, here. I hope he wasn't a handful." They let go of each others hands.

"No, not at all. Actually, I had a lot of fun." The kitsune grinned at the boy.

The man chuckled, amused. "That's good to hear." He paused before continuing. "By the way, my name's Hatake Sakumo."

"It's nice to meet you, Hatake-san. I'm U- Namikaze Minato." '_Damn! I have to get used to the introductions!_'

"Please, no need to be formal. Sakumo is just fine." Naruto smirked; he didn't like the formalities anyway.

"Fine with me, _Sakumo_. Then you can just call me Minato."

"I was planning to." They laughed as they both walked towards the exit of the park. Kakashi just sat on his father's shoulders, looking confused at the two laughing men.

"Well, I'm heading this way." Naruto pointed to his left, to the apartment that he was given earlier at the meeting.

"Heh, then I guess we'll talk to you some other time as we live this way." Sakumo pointed to the road ahead.

Naruto said goodbye to father and son before heading off to his new apartment. A few minutes of walking found him in front of his apartment complex. He got out the piece of paper he received earlier and looked at the number of his room, 285.

After getting the keys from the receptionist (he already knew about the Hokage's involvement), Naruto went to his room on the second floor.

Although the apartment was the same size as the one he had when he was younger, this one was in a better condition. Way better. It was a one room dwelling with a door that led to the bathroom. There were no cracks in the ceilings or the walls. The bed looked decent enough to actually sleep in comfortably and the couch didn't look like it wanted to collapse in on itself. Then there was the kitchenette where he could actually cook something decent (he checked the stove, it worked) and refrigerate food without it going bad.

The bathroom might need some paint but other than that, it was usable.

'_I think I can get used to this…_' He thought as he plopped down on the couch, appreciating the help from the village leader.

'_Damn… I still have to go clothes shopping… and food shopping…_' Then, he closed his eyes, dozing off and promising he'd do it tomorrow.

oOo

**Hmm… I'd have to say that this was more of a filler if anything, but I like this chapter! I think if we saw Kakashi as a baby, he'd have a bigger fan club than the other boys of Konoha put together. Kakashi would be sooooo KAWAII!!!**

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW! I like reviews, they make me feel appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer****: It hasn't changed and it never will. I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!!**

**Warnings****: Um… if you're still reading this even after the last few chapters then there's really no need for this. Just be prepared for some more confusion (similar to the third chapter) later on in this fic. I swear it'll all make sense in the end!**

**I love ALL of you who have reviewed and stuck with me! And sorry for the long wait! I'd go on a rant on how much school sucks and all but I know you guys just want to get the chapter so I'll just sum it up to three words… SCHOOL. IS. EVIL!**

**Now… onward to the fic!! (Now edited!)**

**Key**

"Talking"

'_Thinking_'

**Flashback**

oOo

He hated coming to this place. It smelled like burnt cigars every time he came; the smell so intense that he could practically taste it. The smell attacked him every time he opened the door that now shut behind him.

Sadly, he didn't have much of a choice of being here. Since his first day of his 'new life' two weeks ago, Naruto has been running errand after errand. Sometimes those errands weren't even for his own benefit. All Naruto has been allowed to do was shop for food and clothing, the necessities.

Oh, and then there's the bar in which he's in right now. Not a place he wanted to be in, ever. Though, (unfortunately) Jiraiya left him this duty and he didn't want to disappoint at this point in time where he technically just met the older man.

Looking around the bar, sky blue orbs landed on a woman in her mid-twenties, slumped over the table in front of her. As casually as a fifteen year old in a smoke laden bar could, Naruto strolled over to the blonde woman, taking a seat next to hers. He heard a sigh coming from the woman on his right as he settled down.

Calling over the bartender, Naruto ordered a glass of milk. He shrugged off the weird look he received from the bartender, not caring what he thought, and faced the flushed woman to his right.

From the look of her face, he could tell that she's been here for awhile.

"Namikaze Minato…" She spoke up in resignation, knowing what he came here for.

Honestly, Naruto still hasn't gotten used to being called by that name; the reasons behind it being that of confusion. He stayed up nights on end, trying to explain how he could be his own father… which didn't make sense to begin with. Conclusions were drawn, ranging from a scientific cloning gone wrong to him actually being the father to himself. The latter thought made Naruto laugh so hard that he woke his neighbor up (if the banging on the wall that separated them was any indication). That thought, in Naruto's opinion, was preposterous. So, instead of wasting sleepless nights mulling it over, he decided to ignore it for now, hoping the answers would just fall into place.

Although he didn't need to, Naruto hummed a small answer, telling her that he's listening to whatever she needed to say, like she has the past couple weeks.

The older blonde picked up her shot of sake with a limp wrist, chuckling as she did so. "Looks like you found me again." Naruto always envied her for the ability to not slur when she was drunk. It's one helluva gift.

A smirk adorned Naruto's face. "Well, it's not that hard to find you when you keep coming to the same place, Tsunade-baa-chan." He replied, not able to get out of the habit of calling her that, even when she wasn't old anymore. His glass of milk was placed in front of him and he took a sip from it.

Hazel-nut eyes glanced sideways at him before Tsunade spoke again, a frown pulling at her lips. "You're the only one who actually cares enough to try…"

Naruto mentally sighed; this type of conversation happened every time she got drunk… in other words, every day. "How many times do I have to tell you, your teammates care, they just think that yo-"

"Ha! Like they care! They're just annoyed. They can't wait to get rid of me!" The woman interrupted him, hazily glaring at the younger blonde as she did so.

"… You know you don't mean that." Naruto's voice was stern. "And you also know that they care for you. They just think that you should move on and stop living in the past."

"Don't you think I've _tried_?!" Her voice rose, anger hiding behind those words. "I _can't_! Minato, it's so hard…" And just like that, her voice broke down to a soft whisper before she started to cry. And just like all those other times, Naruto brought her into his arms, and soothed cooing words into her ear. It's funny, when he first saw her cry like this, he was lost on what to do, but as time went on, he slowly understood.

"Shh… it's all right… you know we will be there for you. Me, Jiraiya, and even Orochimaru…" Naruto's eyes narrowed as he thought about what the latter man would do in the future. "There's no need to hide it… we know you're suffering. But we also know that you should try to move on… if not for us then for them… move on and never forget…" A delicate yet strong hand clenched his shirt tightly. "You know that they'd want you to move on with your life. They loved you so much…"

A small sniff could be heard from Naruto's chest. He pulled back and looked down at the woman. It was weird for him seeing such a strong shinobi crumble like that. From past experiences, Naruto knew that when she got drunk, she got way oversensitive and therefore acted like a little kid being reprimanded.

"I'm sure Nawaki and Dan would both love to see you live your life to the fullest… well, by shinobi standards at least." Naruto softly grinned at the older blonde, earning a watery chuckle from said woman. She wiped her tears.

"You know. I'm still mad at Jiraiya for telling you all that without my permission."

"If it wasn't for him, I never would've been able to comfort you for the past week or so."

Tsunade sighed once again before taking one last sip of sake. "True…" As she placed her cup down, Naruto glared at it like it was an offending enemy ready to attack. To him, it sort of was.

He stood up from his stool, then, catching the blonde woman's attention.

"C'mon!" Naruto grabbed Tsunade's hand, pulling her from her seat. With little protest (on Tsunade's part) along the way, they exited the bar.

The younger blonde felt a pull on the arm he was holding and stopped, looking back at the dazed drunk. It seemed she got a little dizzy along the way. Naruto gave her an apologetic look but quickly remembered that she probably couldn't focus on anything.

"Sorry about that." He stood closer to her for some support. Gratefully, she used her free hand to hold onto his shoulder.

"Just give me a second and then we can continue… slowly!" The hidden warning behind the last word didn't go unnoticed. Naruto just grinned in response. A few minutes passed before she straightened up a bit. "So… where're we going?"

"I was thinking we could walk around the park, cool off for a bit. You know…" Naruto shrugged, walking once again as Tsunade held onto his wrist with one of her hands.

After a few stumbles and a face plant, they finally made it to the park. They walked in silence, Tsunade looking at the sky lost in thought. Naruto was respectful enough to leave her alone.

"I miss them…" Naruto was startled, to say the least, when she, at last, spoke up in a far away voice. He faced her only to find that she was still looking at the sky. "This war his been ruthless… so many slaughtered…" The 25 year old tore her eyes away from the sky, gazing at the path they were walking on. "Within one year and two months I lost both of them… Nawaki, my little brother… and Dan…" '_my lover…_' It went unsaid but it didn't need it.

Naruto stopped walking, halting his companion in the process. "Tsunade… you need to stop this… you know this isn't going to bring them back." By this, he meant drinking until deemed unconscious then going into a fit of depression. "Remember what I said earlier." His voice was gentle, as if giving advice to a little sister. That thought almost made Naruto go into hysterics.

"I know." She sighed in exasperation. "I know I have to move on. I know I need to get out of this drinking habit. And, I know that I have others who care about me. But…" Tsunade's hand dropped from Naruto's wrist, placing it on top of her chest, over her heart. "Can't you guys let me mourn for just a little bit longer?" It came out as a plea and Naruto found himself shaking his head.

"We can't do that."

"Why not?!" Tsunades's eyes switched from sadness to anger as she glared at the younger blonde.

In answer, Naruto sighed. He turned around and headed towards the swing set, sitting in one of the swings. A few seconds passed and Tsunade joined him, sitting in the swing next to his.

There was a silence again only this time, Naruto was left to his own thoughts.

"You know…" The kitsune started off. "The day after I was escorted to Konoha, I came to this park." He chuckled at the memory. "I saw a little boy playing with a kunai; practically sliced my head. We got to talking and then we began to play around the park. It was a lot of fun…" Naruto smiled at the fond memory.

"I was pushing him on this swing," he pointed to the swing he was sitting in, "when his dad came over. Nice man. A ninja, too. Anyway, I was just thinking, what if he was on a mission one day and never came back? What would happen to the little boy? First he'd cry… but then what?" Naruto looked at the older blonde, then. "Will he wallow in self pity, blaming himself for his father's death?"

"No."

Naruto's eyes widened at the firm response. A smirk rose on his face afterward.

"Why?"

"Because I won't allow it. He should live on, grow up, and become a shinobi like his father was." Tsunade glared at the trees ahead. "That boy should try and live up to what his father would have expected of him, what he would want his son to be."

All of a sudden, Naruto began laughing hysterically. Tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

"What? What's so funny?! This is serious!" For the life of her, Tsunade couldn't figure out what he was laughing about.

Naruto finally calmed down after a few minutes, wiping a few tears away. He looked over at her before answering.

"You just answered your own question." The smirk came back onto the teen's face.

"Huh?" Now she was confused. Tsunade looked at Naruto quizzically, noting how he shook his head. She thought back.

There were a few minutes of Naruto humming to a random song while Tsunade thought.

Without warning, Naruto was tackled by a busty blonde in armor, falling to the ground in the process. He groaned and she quickly sat up.

"Heh… sorry…" She gave him a sheepish grin.

"What was that for?" He asked her as she got up and gave him a hand.

"Even though I'm not fully over it… I'm still going to try…" They began heading over to a nearby bench and sat down. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… thanks. Thanks for all of your help."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. No problem. I mean, if people were to mope all the time for their lost loved one, this would be one _really_ sad world." A wide grin adorned his face as Tsunade laughed to her heart's content.

Suddenly, without warning, Naruto couldn't see. He soon realized that there was a calloused hand over his eyes. It was obvious who it was (he almost rolled his eyes but they were preoccupied) but what really bothered him was that he didn't notice the other ninja was there.

"Jiraiya!" It came out as a half whine, half yell. Laughter from behind them was heard as the hand was lifted from Naruto's face (the other hand, he noticed, was previously over Tsunade's eyes), and both blondes turned back to the white haired man.

"So, how are you two lovebirds doing?"

Naruto's eye twitched at the prospect of actually _dating_ the woman sitting beside him. Just the thought made him want to barf. It also didn't help that his thoughts traveled to himself dating the Tsunade from his time.

Finally, after getting over the comment, he came back to the real world. Turned out the other blonde didn't think Jiraiya's comment was funny either as he now sported a large bump on his head. He absorbed all that was going on before actually exploding.

"DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT!" Naruto got up close to the older man's face to show he meant business.

"Alright, alright!" He held both of his hands in front of his chest in surrender. "Calm down. It won't happen again." At Jiraiya's assurance, they all calmed down a bit.

"What are you doing back so early, anyway? Weren't you supposed to be on that mission for another few days?" Tsunade questioned, folding her arms over her chest.

"I got done early, though I can't say the same for Orochimaru. He's got another two weeks, so I've heard." Jiraiya's information made Naruto do a mental dance. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he saw that snake-bastard anytime soon; he came to this era at the perfect time because the day before, Orochimaru had left for a mission to help out on the front lines. To Naruto: the later, the better.

"Well, damn!" Tsunade pouted. "I really want you to meet him soon, Minato. You can probably make him a whole less of a grump." She smirked at Naruto, who was freaked beyond compare. _Naruto _change _Orochimaru's_ personality? Definitely _not_ possible!

"Well, it's not like I'm leaving anywhere anytime soon."

"True."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh, contraire. Guess what _else_ I heard from the old man." He received two blank looks and smirked. "Heh. Just found out that things are starting to slow down."

Two different reactions came at him at once. Tsunade tried to smile but burst out into tears instead while Naruto stayed put with a confused expression on his face.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked as he glanced from one sennin to the other.

"It means, kid, that the war will be coming to an end within the next few months." Comprehension dawned on the once confused blonde and he started parading around the bench he once occupied.

"That's great! It'll all be over soon! We'll all-" He stopped mid-sentence and turned back to Jiraiya. "But, wait. What does that have to do with me leaving?"

In response, Jiraiya held two thumbs up and grinned. "Because, a month after the war has officially ended, I'll be taking you as my student for the next five years. We'll be traveling to all of the different countries."

oOo

**Heehee. And so begins Naruto's training… again. XD**

**So, so, so?!?! Was it good, was it great, or was it completely awful?! Please tell me in your reviews! Anything is accepted except for flames! In fact, if I get at least 10 reviews, I might even add a little lemon (Sasunaru, of course). We'll just have to see!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto!**

**/blinks/ GAH!! Where has the time gone?! /cries and dodges objects/ I'm sooooooo sorry! It's been forever! I feel horrible for making you all wait!**

**Well, I'm going to (hopefully) make it up to you guys with this chapter.**

**By the way, with the things that are turning out with the manga right now, my story is going to turn out slightly different (more so than just the regular time thing… you'll see later). I'm just warning you (slightly) for now.**

**Thank you, everyone, for the reviews!!**

**Now, onto the fic!**

**P.S. Please look at the A.N. at the end of the chapter, it's pretty important.**

oOo

(Warning: Next part that is italicized can be skipped, if you want to.)

_One more breathtaking kiss was given as the blond descended down his lover's body, leaving burning kisses in his wake. At his chest, the blond took the time to suck each nipple lovingly, smirking at the groan he received from the other's supple lips._

_Continuing onward, he reached a dip on the pale stomach and couldn't resist dipping his tongue in. This time, a moan escaped those lips. He was just getting to his favorite part when he felt pale hands grab tightly onto his shoulders. Before he knew it, he was facing the ceiling. Blinking, he was surprised to find himself with his back on the bed. Wasn't he just…_

"_My turn."_

_The blond man didn't get the chance to process what the husky voice said as the same mouth covered the tip of his member. A suck and the blond thought he was going to cum. His back arched, though, trying to put more into that hot cavern._

"_Mm…"_

_The other's tongue lapped around his arousal, while the blond vainly tried getting the man to put his mouth around it with his hands pushing the head down. The teasing was unbearable._

_Finally, the pale man did as the blond pleaded and placed his mouth around the erection. He thrust his head up and down not long after. After awhile, the blond could feel himself building up, his moans becoming harder to stifle. His lover stopped his ministrations, however, and the blond looked down at him in confusion._

_To answer, his boyfriend slid up his body until they came face to face, members aligned making them both grunt. The man on top of the blond hissed his neck, sucking every once in awhile, until he got to an ear._

"_I want to hear you scream my name as you cum in my mouth."_

_The tan blond moaned at the words, not noticing the other sliding down his body into the position he was in before. Looking down, he found black eyes staring at him as a tongue licked at the slit, hand holding his member in place._

_Fingers wove their way into dark strands of hair._

"_Ah…" The tan teen's body arched up once more as his lover's hot mouth engulfed him once more. He was about to silence his moans again when a painfully hard suck made him stop along with two pale hands grabbing onto his wrists and holding them by his side on the bed._

_The bobbing continued from there and the blond could feel the other man hollow his cheeks before sucking once more. A tongue was still swirling around his erection. Another moan slipped through his lips. His senses were going haywire as he could feel himself nearing completion._

"_S…Sa…" He couldn't get the word out as his stomach muscles began to tighten. "N-no… I can't…"_

_Faintly, in the back of his mind, he could hear another voice calling out to him. He knew it wasn't his lover as the man was still occupied with his member. The blond tried calling back but he felt like he was suffocating._

_There were a few more calls before he felt like he was drowning… drowning…_

Naruto sprung up from the ground, having been rudely awakened from his nap. Taking out a kunai, Naruto searched high and low for the perpetrator. The only person he spotted was Jiraiya holding a bucket upside-down. Grumbling, the blond put his kunai away, silently promising that he'll get the older man one of these days.

Slapping his hand onto his face, Naruto swept away some of the remnants of water. After drying himself off, he glared at the older man.

"Why the _hell_ did you pour water on me?!" He tried being calm while asking but it just didn't turn out that way. He was furious at Jiraiya for waking him up, not only because of the water, but because of the timing. Naruto didn't think anything the sennin would say could keep him from ripping his head off. He should know. Not only has he known him for a little less than seven months after re-meeting him, but he also knew the man from his time.

"You were too loud. It was annoying and I think you scared the animals away." Of course, his anger couldn't keep his blush away. "That; or you made them go into heat." Now, Naruto could feel himself getting even hotter. "But, don't worry. I think you just helped me out with my new series that I plan on writing." The pervert grinned as he turned away and went back to the fire where he was making breakfast.

Oh _HELL_ no!!

Naruto wanted to faint. '_This is sooo not happening!_' He excused himself from Jiraiya's presence, hoping to find a tree nearby to hit his head against.

This, actually, has been going on since his birthday last month. About once a week he'd get a wet dream involving his boyfriend and he could never find a way to stop it. He figured it started because of the lack of boyfriend he has now, but he wasn't too worried on how it started. Fortunately, no one has heard him whenever he did… well, until now, that is. Though, he can't say that his first day of this happening was any picnic.

_**Flashback**_

Panting, Naruto wiped some sweat off his forehead. He glanced around his room, making sure that all his things were things he came accustomed to within the past five and a half months.

Unmistakably, all his belongings (among other 'things') weren't from his dream. Looking down, he noticed a little tent formed under the covers.

"Great." He groaned as he got out of bed, stretching. The blond was going to enter his bathroom to take a cold shower when a knock cam from his front door. A curse flew from his lips as he was stuck between pretending that he wasn't home and answering the door as he felt that his buddy wasn't wavering anytime soon.

The knocks became more persistent that he figured that to hell with it and answered the door, keeping most of his body behind it.

It was Sakumo and Kakashi.

Naruto cursed some more in his head.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto grinned at the duo.

"Minawto!" The blond couldn't stop himself from giving the little boy on his father shoulders a kind smile. He could tell that Kakashi was really trying to say his name right, along with many other words.

"Hey, Minato." The father grinned back. "Sorry to barge in on you so early, but Kakashi has been bugging me all morning about you." Sakumo gave Naruto a look that screamed 'please, help me!' and Naruto felt caught.

"Uh… sure… just…" Naruto quickly glanced down at his boxer-clad self, bearing in mind that his erection flagged down a bit but was still prominent. "You can come in." He opened the door wider as he turned his back to them, waving them along as he walked. "Make sure you close the door behind you." He went into the living room, still not fully facing them. "Here. You guys can wait here while I go get ready." And with that, he dashed into his bathroom, picking up random clothes along the way.

A few minutes later, he came out, fully clothed with a sheepish grin on his face.

"So," The three-year-old ran up to Naruto and latched onto his leg. The blond ruffled the silver hair. "What would you like to do, 'Kashi?"

_**End Flashback**_

Although neither Hatake knew that that day was his actual birthday, he couldn't ask for a better birthday present as they all went to the park to play, eat ice cream, and be ransacked (mostly by Kakashi, along with his friend he introduced to Naruto earlier). It was one of those days he'd never forget.

After attempting, and failing, to do some bodily harm to himself, he slowly approached the small opening of the woods that the two stayed at the night before. Naruto got there a few minutes later to find that not only was the fire out, but there wasn't any food kept to the side for him. He could feel his right eye twitch in annoyance.

"Old man…" Naruto growled at the sennin whose smirk quickly disappeared.

"Oi! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not old, brat!" Jiraiya got up from his perch on a rock to stalk towards Naruto, silently threatening the younger man by cracking his knuckles.

Naruto placed his hands over his heart in mock adoration. "Aww, but you'll _always_ be old to me." The blond laughed before dashing away from the area at the look in those dark eyes.

Then, their spar began.

Dashing in the trees to conceal himself, which was kind of hard with all the leaves changing colors and falling because of the season, Naruto tried catching his breath from the first of many rallies between the two. The adrenaline pumped through his veins. It almost reminded him of home when he'd spar with Sasuke.

Yeah, that's right, home. 27 years ahead of this time. He wasn't sure what it was, but Naruto still felt as if he couldn't call this era 'home'. Even after helping the ninja here end the war only a little less then fifteen days ago, it didn't sit well for him as he still considered the time where all his friends and 'family' lived his home.

Naruto inwardly smiled. The reason he was even out here traveling with his new-but-not-so-new teacher was because they finally ended the war just about thirteen days ago, about six months after he arrived in this place.

Taking out a kunai, he crouched on the tree branch searching for his opponent's chakra signature. Suddenly, he leaped off the tree branch as three kunai embedded into the bark of the tree he was just on. While in midair, he threw his own kunai in the general direction they came from. He landed on another tree branch not too far away but didn't stay long, jumping to the ground behind another tree.

There was more silence. Quickly making some hand signs, he finished in time to be replaced and the older ninja to kick the log that replaced him. Just above, Naruto lunged down at the unsuspecting shinobi to punch him. A glint caught the corner of his eye forcing him to stop with his fist mere inches from the red streaked face (feet planted on the tree bark) and a shuriken held at his neck.

"C'mon, brat!" Naruto huffed in indignation as they stood in their stalemate, staring at each other. "That's no way to train if you're holding back." Jiraiya didn't stop there, though. "At least, pretend that I'm Orochimaru or something."

The blond glared and, with new found vigor, attacked his sensei once more. He was brought back to remembering the time he was unfortunate enough to meet Orochimaru again in June, a little over a month since he got there. He was fortunate enough that he wasn't attacked this time, though he can't say much for the slimy bastard who, no matter what the age, was still sick and twisted.

_**Flashback**_

Naruto thought he was going to cry. No really, he could feel the beginnings of waterworks at the corners of his eyes. He stood there for awhile, pouting, hoping it was all a cruel joke. But, then he remembered that he was in the past so there wasn't any possible way that it could've been built.

Sadly enough, Naruto was staring at an open space that would later have a building built over it that'll contain Naruto's favorite food.

Yeah, that's right, no ramen. And it's all because there was no Ichiraku.

The blond had to force himself away from the horrible sight before he scared the children (and a few adults) with his bawling. Now he had to search for a new restaurant to serve his rumbling stomach.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of searching, he found a nice place to eat. Entering through the door, an empty seat wasn't the only thing he found as he growled, staring across the room.

What the hell was _Orochimaru_ doing here?

A flash of the things he did to all the people Naruto cared for came to mind. He clenched his fist. The third Hokage, Tsunade-baa-chan, Ero-sennin, Shizune-nee-chan, Sakura-chan, the Fuuma clan, and especially…

_Sasuke_.

Blue eyes narrowed as Naruto strode towards the booth the bastard was sitting in. As he got closer, he vaguely noticed two other people with him, but it didn't register in his mind.

"Hey! Minato! Look who's h-" Jiraiya didn't get to finish as he saw that the young blond wasn't paying attention to him. The fact that Naruto punched the snake sennin in the face might have helped his deduction.

As Naruto was going to continue with his attack by getting his clones out, he felt a hand grab onto his wrist. He glanced at the owner of the hand to find the one and only, Tsunade. Blinking out of his trance, Naruto dropped his hands to his side, still scowling at the pale man who was rubbing his smarting cheek. Naruto wasn't the only one scowling.

"What, may I ask, was that for?" Orochimaru asked in the pseudo-politeness that's mostly always attached to his voice, grating on Naruto's nerves even more.

They probably saw Naruto's fist clench again for Jiraiya and Tsunade both stood up abruptly and yelled at him at the same time.

"What's gotten into you?!"

"That's enough, Minato!"

Hearing them shout, Naruto reluctantly took deep breaths to calm down, if not a little bit. He was just beginning to loosen up when Tsunade continued. "Now, apologize for punching him for no reason."

And Naruto tensed up once more.

"There's no freakin' way am I apologizing to _him_!" The blond said the last word in disgust.

"And why the hell not?!" Tsunade stepped up to Naruto, glaring down at him.

The younger blond had the urge to rub the back of his neck. What should he say? _He tried to ruin the lives of the people I hold dear to me. Especially you guys, the old man, and my best friend Sasuke!_ Yeah, right! Then he'd have to explain how he came from the future and that now he's stuck here until he knew how to go back…

In the end, he'd be stuck in some insane asylum.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

"He doesn't need to apologize, Tsunade." Looking at the speaking, Naruto couldn't stop himself from gaping at his 'savior'. Orochimaru turned to him and smirked. Naruto wasn't sure whether to trust it or not. It was one of those smirks that gave him the feeling that Orochimaru had something up his sleeves, and couldn't wait to use it on him, whatever 'it' was.

"B-but… he…"

"I'm sure that he just hit me because I looked like someone he didn't like, or something close to that." Naruto continued to gape at the snake lover but stopped when said man gave him a look that sent shivers down his spine.

"Uh… y-yeah… That's it…" Naruto grinned and this time followed his urge to rub the back of his neck. Jiraiya and Tsunade sat back down in the booth they were in before, Tsunade more grudgingly, if anything. Orochimaru, sitting in a booth by himself across from Tsunade and Jiraiya, patted the seat beside him, inviting Naruto.

Reluctantly, and hoping more than anything that this lunch would go by quick, Naruto sat beside his future enemy. As he sat down, he found that Orochimaru had one of those secretive smiles on his face.

He wasn't sure what that meant, all he knew was that he was afraid to know.

Conversation carried on and every once in awhile, Naruto would find himself drifting off in thought. Every time he did, though, he would get out of it when Orochimaru would pat him on the shoulder and ask him a question. Once, he sat staring at the younger version of his enemy, and he couldn't help himself from thinking that no matter what age that body-stealing bastard was, he always tries to up someone.

_**End Flashback**_

A chuckle slipped out stretched out lips. Lying sprawled out on the soft grass, Naruto gazed up at the colorful trees that were showing signs of winter yet to come. He didn't have much longer to take this short break, however. His sensei left the clearing to take care of some 'business' and said that when he came back, they'd be heading out to a nearby village.

In the meantime, Naruto thought of other prominent times he was near the snake bastard. One time, he remembered it being Tsunade's birthday party; he resorted to his old genin days of pulling pranks. This prank, although not involving spray paint, was just as good. Let's just say it took Orochimaru a few hours before he was able to get out of the bathroom.

And let's not get started on the prank he pulled on the snake's actual birthday. Oh, God. Naruto swears that it was way worse than the one he pulled at Tsunade's party. This time, he took some time to sneak into his house before the guests came to work on a few things in the bathroom. When everyone did get there, it took a lot of effort for them to keep themselves from laughing so hard at the discoloration of his skin… and the fact his hair looked a slight shade darker than Jiraiya's didn't help.

'_Can't wait until the next big event._' Naruto smirked at the thought of something even bigger than the last two pranks. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to think about it as he heard twigs breaking under feet, notifying of someone's entrance. Sitting up, Jiraiya came into view.

"C'mon, brat, I found a village not too far from here." He motioned for Naruto to follow him to which Naruto did. "We can stay in a hotel there for a few days." The blond mentally cheered at the thought of a warm, cozy bed.

Getting closer to the village, Jiraiya continued talking.

"In the meantime, we can replenish our supplies and I can teach you a new technique that could help you in the long run. This is probably the perfect place for it, actually…" Jiraiya trailed off in thought. Naruto didn't bother bringing him back until they reached the entrance to the hidden village.

Wrapping an arm around the older man's shoulders, Naruto pointed ahead of them. "Is that the village?"

"Yeah, that's it." He picked up his pace. Naruto dropped his arm as he followed his teacher. "Let's hurry and get a hotel room."

"Alright. But first, I want to know what training I'll be going through." Naruto's fingers entangled together in with the hairs on the back of his head, lazily walking on towards one hotel that is right near the edge of the village.

"Oh, nothing big, just a little something to help with your chakra control. Then, we'll get on to bigger things." Jiraiya answered back. He stepped up to the reception desk after entering the hotel to ask for a room with two beds. A few minutes of waiting and he received two keys. Tossing one to Naruto, they headed up to their room.

The room wasn't anything special. There was a bathroom to the right as you walk in the door, a closet for clothes to the left, and two beds on one wall with a nightstand in between.

Placing their stuff down on their respective beds, they sized each other up. Glaring at one another until Jiraiya finally said that Naruto would be the one to get the food at the market. Naruto complained until he was threatened, and even then he still argued.

Strolling along the streets, hands stuffed in his pockets, Naruto searched for an applicable market. His search wasn't long as he found one not too long after exiting the hotel. He went in.

He grabbed some random food that they could possibly be making for the next few nights (ramen packets included). With everything he believed he needed, he headed over to the cash register only to get bumped along the way. That's when he noticed he was sitting on the ground with a body lying horizontally on his stomach.

"Sorry!" The person quickly got off of him, kneeling off to the side looking at him apologetically. Naruto sat up fully before looking over at the careless person - err - girl.

Looking her up and down Naruto had the feeling that she was about his age. She was wearing a blue, short sleeved dress-like outfit with slits on each side coming from her hips down with black, tight-fitting pants. Glancing at her face quickly before standing up, he became aware of her bright red hair. Naruto couldn't help thinking that it looked good on her.

Naruto stuck out his hand to help her up and she took the offered hand gratefully.

"It's fine. Just be careful next time, ne?" She blushed at his grin, nodding nervously.

He gathered all the things he dropped at the fall, and this time actually got to the cash register without a hassle. Though, he noticed that this time he had a follower.

"Is something the matter?" Naruto paid for the food, grabbed the bag of food, and headed out to the streets again. The girl continued to follow him after she paid for her things.

"Not at all." She dismissed his question with a wave of her hand. Naruto took a double take. Wasn't this girl shy back there? Her demeanor did a whole 180 on him! "Hey! Do you want to go spar with me?"

To say that Naruto was shocked by her question was an understatement. All the girls he knew of at his age usually didn't do the whole 'sparring' thing willingly. This girl coming and asking him if he wanted to spar made him wonder if he just made another mistake like he did with Haku when he was younger and this girl was actually a boy. But one glance at her chest answered that question.

"Uh… sorry… I can't right now, kind of busy. Maybe, some other time?" Naruto asked. She pouted but then brightened up at the prospect of seeing him again. The girl nodded.

"But first, before you go, what's your name? I need to know the name of my future sparring partner. My name's Uzumaki Kushina!" She placed a smirk on her face as if she was boasting.

Naruto chuckled. "It's nice to meet you Kushina-chan. My name's Namikaze Minato."

Kushina grinned really big. Then they said their goodbyes and diverged in different directions.

As Naruto was getting closer to the hotel he and Jiraiya were sharing a room in, he stopped in his tracks as realization dawned on him. The bag of food almost dropped out of his hands.

"D-d-did she say Uz-Uz-Uzumaki?!"

oOo

**And so they meet for the first time! XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I sure did!**

**Now, time for my little Author's Note:**

**Okay, so, I have all the dates planned out for this and everything and there will be a few times where I'll update you on what has happened on what months (and/or days).**

**So far, Naruto came back in time late April (I prefer the 28), then there's when Naruto helps Tsunade (May 14), Naruto meets Orochimaru (June 3), Tsunade's birthday (August 2), Naruto's (secretive) birthday (October 10), Orochimaru's birthday (October 27), the War ending (November 6), and then Naruto's training beginning (November 19).**

**Now, the months are pretty important, but, you don't have to worry all that much about the actual dates as they are more for my benefit, if anything.**

**That's all for now! Thanks for reading and PLEASE review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I will never, ever, ever, ever own Naruto and all the characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing on **_**fan**_**fiction about it.**

**Warnings: Some OOC-ness (because I think the way they act in the first part of this is way too funny), spoilers, spelling and grammar errors, and the like…**

**A/N: … Please don't kill me… I kind of lost my muse for a few months there but when I got it back, I couldn't find the time to write because of school and all its demands.**

**Enjoy the read!**

oOo

Naruto smiled sheepishly as the door to his and Jiraiya's hotel room opened, coming face to face with an annoyed looking Jiraiya. He would be rubbing the back of his neck but his arms were full of groceries.

"Uh… I kind of… uh… left my key in the room…" The blond chuckled uneasily as the annoyed looked changed to a glare. Jiraiya was almost tempted to slam the door shut in the other man's face. Instead, he grumbled ("Not even a day in this village and he's already forgetting something") and left the door open, heading back to what he was doing before the pounding on the door disrupted him.

Kicking the door shut as he followed the older man in, Naruto rolled his eyes. It wasn't his fault that he forgot the key. He was practically kicked out the door to go and get the groceries, not getting the chance to see if he had everything.

He placed the bag on the counter in the mini-kitchen, not bothering to put any of it away as he walked to his self-proclaimed bed and collapsed on it. There was a soft groan then a soft rustling. Naruto figured that Jiraiya took upon himself to put everything away so they wouldn't get bad but he couldn't find the inclination to apologize; his mind was a little preoccupied.

From the kitchen, Naruto heard a small squawk as there was a pause in the rustling.

"All but one egg has been broken!" Jiraiya yelled in disbelief. "And you call yourself a ninja?!" A little smile played on Naruto's lips, a picture of a wide-eyed Jiraiya holding a yolk-covered carton of broken eggs.

"That's what you get for messing with Namikaze Minato!" He made the mistake of not opening his eyes during, or after, the proclamation as not even a minute later he felt a thick, gooey substance dripping on his face. Eyes opening wide, he found the white-haired man smirking over him with both hands, dripping from the yolk, held over his head.

"And that's what you get for messing with the one and only Jiraiya." Then, they were running fast as Naruto grabbed the carton of milk that hasn't been put away yet and chased the older man around the room. Eventually, he got to him, pouring most of the milk onto the man before Jiraiya got a hold of his wrist and somehow got it twisted in a way that the rest of it pour all over his head. Naruto got over his shock fast and grabbed both of Jiraiya's wrists (the hands still gooey from the yolk from earlier) and slammed the hands right into the owner's face.

Afterwards, they found themselves sticky, slimy, and wet. They couldn't stop the onslaught of laughter erupting from deep within as they fell to the ground. Both laughed at how ridiculous they just were. Just thinking about the ridiculousness that had transpired brought out a new wave of laughs.

Jiraiya tried speaking first, only able to get it out between deep breaths. "Yo-your hair… It's sh-shap-sha… It looks like it got mauled by a bear!" And he broke into another bout of laughter as he ruffled the blond hair, making it look worse than it did before.

Naruto's stomach ached as he tried to catch a breath. "It's n-not as bad as… the way yo-your fa-" He took a gulp, "-ace looked w-when I sho-shoved your hands…" Naruto couldn't even finish the sentence as he was consumed by his laughs.

In due time, they calmed down enough to have the sense to clean up the mess they made in the room. After they were done with that, they took turns washing up in the shower. Once they were finished with everything, they sat on their own beds, getting ready for an early night so they could get up early to train.

"So, why _were_ all the eggs broken in the carton, anyway?" Jiraiya asked as he got under the covers.

"You said that one survived." Naruto replied, also getting in the covers.

The other male rolled his eyes. "Why were they broken, Minato?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. His mind went back to when he bumped into the girl in the market, the girl with the red hair and the same last name as him. "I bumped into a girl in the market and didn't think that anything had broken."

He could hear the sly smirk in the older man's voice. "A girl, huh? Was she hot?"

For some reason, Naruto felt scandalized at the question. "Jiraiya?!"

"What?" Jiraiya asked in mock-innocence.

Naruto just stuttered in his reply, not able to think of a response to that.

Jiraiya wasn't deterred by this as he continued with his questions. "Well, did you introduce yourself?"

Finally, Naruto found his voice again. "Uh… she kind of introduced herself first. She said her name was Uz-Uzumaki Kushina." His voice stuttered over the name. And he thought meeting Kakashi as a two year-old was going to be the weirdest things he'd find here. Well, there's his wake up call.

"Huh." Jiraiya's grunt took him out of his musings. "That's weird."

Blue eyes widened as Naruto's head turned toward Jiraiya, heart beating wildly. "W-what's weird?" Was his voice an octave higher than normal? Damn it!

Jiraiya shook his head slightly. "Nothing. Just that, we're in the Whirlpool Country. Heh. I wonder how many Uzumaki's are living here, then."

Feeling a wave of calm wash over him, Naruto took a deep, silent breath. Of course Jiraiya thought that was weird. Having the surname 'Uzumaki', which means 'whirlpool', in Whirlpool Country was definitely strange. Introductions would definitely be weird if Kushina were to introduce herself, "Hi, I'm a whirlpool from Whirlpool country!"

Though, that'd be weird no matter what country she said she's from.

Mentally shaking himself away from his confusing thoughts, Naruto grunted to Jiraiya's thought. He settled back down into his bed.

Jiraiya then sighed. "Oh well. Guess we'll cal it a night, then."

Pausing in his reply, Naruto asked the one question that was bugging the back of his mind. "Wait. Is that all you think is weird about that name?"

There's a short hum before a short "yep" was spoken from the person in the other bed. Then, a small "g' night" was heard.

Naruto replied with his own "g' night" before turning towards the wall closest to him, facing away from Jiraiya. He stared at the wall for a little while, thoughts flying through a few at a time until, finally, he was able to close his eyes.

oOo

_They were at the bathhouse today, soaking it up and trying to relax. They've been traveling nonstop for the past few days and Naruto was glad they found a village or else something imaginable would have happened._

_It probably wouldn't have been pretty._

_Naruto was just relaxing against one of the rocks when he felt a small prickling in the back of his head traveling across, ever so slowly, to the front of his head. Before he had the chance to stop it, however, his mouth did what it usually did. It opened up and said the first thing that cam to his mind._

"_You remember that time last week when you told me about my dad?" He saw Jiraiya inhale deeply before letting his breath out slowly. The old man opened his eyes and lolled his head facing the blond, head still relaxed on the rock behind him. He was too relaxed to speak up so Naruto took that as a sign to continue._

"_Well, what about my mom?" He noticed how Jiraiya tensed up a bit at the question but quickly relaxed again as his head turned again to face the ceiling._

"_What about her?" Jiraiya asked._

"_What's her name?" Naruto asked back, not even hesitating._

_A deafening silence followed his question. Naruto's ever-moving mouth didn't want to break it as he waited for an answer. Eventually, Jiraiya did answer, but it wasn't the answer Naruto was hoping for._

"_Sorry, brat, but no can do."_

_Naruto gapes at the answer he received. "No way! Why not?"_

_The old man just shrugged. "Who knows?" Naruto was about to curse him out when Jiraiya continued. "But, I will tell you this. Your mom… she wasn't born in the Leaf Country."_

_The blond blinked. "Huh?"_

"_Your mom wasn't born in the Leaf Country. She was born in the Whirlpool Country"_

Naruto's body jerked then he opened his eyes. Blearily, he noticed he was still in the hotel. He sat up as he yawned, remembering the dream he just had. Better put, it was a memory. Naruto remembered that day. After he found out that bit of information he began to scream at the old man for lying to him because 'there was no such thing as Whirlpool Country.' The reply he got back was: "none that you know of."

Sometimes, he really thought Jiraiya to be a really big jerk.

Speaking of… Naruto looked over to the other bed to find it unoccupied. That's when he heard the toilet flush. A few seconds later, the door leading to the bathroom opened up.

"Ah, you're up. Good, I don't have to try shaking you awake for a half hour." The 27 year-old stepped into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Naruto smirked. "Can I have that one egg? Scrambled? Don't forget the toast."

Jiraiya just laughed an evil kind of laugh. "Too bad, brat. That egg is mine. Now, pick something else or you'll have to eat the cereal without milk."

Chuckling, the blond just shook his head and said that he'd have ramen, which was answered with an incredulous stare. He ignored it in favor of more pressing needs, like emptying his bladder. After, he went and had his ramen (waiting the three minutes for it to cook first) still ignoring the baffled stare of his companion/teacher.

"Sometimes, kid, I really don't understand you." Jiraiya sighed as he finished his breakfast of one egg, lots of toast, and a cup of tea.

"So I've been told."

oOo

Whatever happened to the saying about 'third time's the charm'? Well, Naruto was able to do this the second time, but now he wasn't sure if that counts anymore.

The first time he tried walking on top of water, Ebisu was teaching him. Now, it's understandable that he wasn't able to succeed on his first try because it was _Ebisu_. Going for it the second time was with Jiraiya. It took Naruto awhile but with his determination and Jiraiya's weird technique-thing that should have left bruises but didn't, he was able to get it.

Now, why Jiraiya thought it was a good idea to teach his "new" student chakra control by having him standing on water in a lake that's in a constant whirlpool is beyond his level of thinking. With the way the progress was going, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if this training takes longer than the first two put together.

The training almost made him wish for the older Jiraiya back.

Controlling his chakra once more and channeling it to his feet, Naruto took one careful step onto the water again and tried to evaluate how much more he'll need to stay above the water, fully. Eventually, he got it and tried placing his other foot next to the first. His balance is unsteady, the whirlpool making it harder to regain that sense of balance. It doesn't help that this was his eighth time trying, most of the time falling in then trying to swim back out against the powerful force of the water(first three times he was only able to get one foot on before it sunk in). He's past near exhausted! However, like he said earlier, his determination alone would save him, even if it seemed like he didn't have as much chakra as he did before.

He took a few steps, balance still a bit unsteady, but he's still fully above the water. So, he continues on a little more. Unfortunately, before he reached his seventh step, he fell into the waster half way. Naruto tried pulling himself back up, unsuccessfully as he fell all the way in. Instead of trying to pull himself up, he resorted to swimming back to the edge. It took him longer than the other times, but he got there all the same. He lied on his back, staring at the sky and knowing that Jiraiya has been watching from the shade of the tree the entire time. Closing his eyes, he took a small breather.

Suddenly, he noticed that the sun wasn't beating down on him anymore making the inside of his eyelids black instead of red. Opening his eyes, he noticed that it wasn't white hair cast down over the person's shoulder, but red hair.

"Ku- Uzumaki-san?" Naruto questioned. He squinted a bit to try to see her better.

"Hi, Namikaze-san!" The red-head chirped, giving him a little wave, too. She stepped back a bit as he stood up. Wringing out some water out of his shorts with one hand, he gave a meek smile and wave back to her. The blond was still uncertain about being around Kushina. After the introductions yesterday, he was hoping to not see her for a little while just to figure things out. It looked like luck wasn't on his side this time.

"So, what are you doing?" Kushina gestured to the damp shorts he was wearing as she asked.

"Training." Naruto answered as he looked back at the whirlpool in the lake. She followed his gaze.

"Ah. I remember doing all of that. Yeah, it wasn't that easy." She stated simply.

"Tell me about." The blond rubbed the back of his neck, facing the red-haired girl again. "What brings you around here?"

Kushina pointed toward a group of trees behind her. "I train everyday in a clearing not far from here. I was coming through here to wash up then head home." Naruto didn't notice before but looking closely at the girl's face, he could see a lot of dirt smudges and some small scrapes. He even saw that her hair was a mess.

"Oh. That's cool." Naruto wasn't really sure what to say to that.

Taking that as her queue, she bent down by the edge of the lake and began washing her face, neck, and arms. It didn't take her long until she was standing and facing Naruto again, smile wide.

"Well, then I guess I'll see you. Don't forget about our spar." She turned to leave, walking away before she stopped. "Oh, and I always find my life easier when I go with the flow." With that, she headed on out.

Giving a confused look at the redhead's back, he gave her another small wave. Then, he turned back to the lake, feeling like he could go one more time before calling it a day. In the corner of his eye, he noted that Jiraiya was still sitting under the tree, closing his eyes. That set Naruto back a bit. The older, and more perverted Jiraiya would have come up to Naruto right about now to get him to go on a date and such with her. Sighing, he went back to staring at the lake, the water flowing around in circles non-stop.

"_I always find my life easier when I go with the flow."_

A chuckle escaped his lips as he understood the reason for her cryptic, and (at the time) out of place, message. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated to channel his chakra down to his feet once more. Then, being as careful as he was before, he placed a foot on the water, facing it the way that the water was flowing. It took him a shorter time to evaluate how much chakra he needed this time. Putting his other foot next to the first, he began to walk with the flow.

It was working! He didn't feel like he was being pulled in every direction trying to walk. His walking was just as normal as if he was on the ground. Only, he could feel that his chakra was almost depleted. That's the sign that he had enough training and that he better get out soon or he'd have to swim out again.

Naruto walked away from the lake and headed toward the tree Jiraiya was under. He flopped down on the ground, lying down. That started the older man out of his light doze as he shifted his gaze to the blond.

"Did her advice help?" So, he _was_ listening.

Naruto stuck his thumb up in the air.

oOo

Three days later, Naruto ran into Kushina in the market again. Only, it wasn't so literally this time.

"Hello, Namikaze-san!" Kushina greeted with a small smile.

"It's been awhile, Uzumaki-san, but, please, just call me Minato. I'm not one for formalities like that." Naruto greeted back, shifting the eggs to rest against his hip.

A small blush, barely noticeable, appeared on Kushina's cheeks. "Alright… Minato-kun…" Then, she recovered as she spoke some more, jumping on the tips of her toes as she did so. "I'll only call you by your first name if you call me by mine!"

The blond chuckled lightly at her antics. "Fair enough, Kushina-chan." He started walking towards the cash register again, waving at the redhead for her to follow. "So, are you doing anything for the rest of the day?" Naruto was glad he was facing away from her. He didn't want her to see the blush on his face. It sounded like he was asking her on a date!

"Um… nope!" Kushina answered. It seemed like she didn't catch onto what the question could have implied.

'_That's good._' "Then, what do you say to a little spar after I bring this back to my ho-" He didn't get to finish as he found himself almost being tackled to the ground. Kushina had given him a tackle hug that really surprised him. It took him awhile to blink out of his surprise, but once he did, Kushina had separated herself from him. Her eyes were glowing in delight.

"Yes! That would be great! Since we have to go take care of our groceries, how about we meet at the training grounds you were in the other day? Okay? Okay, I'll see you in about a half hour!" She didn't even give him the chance to reply as she paid for the groceries ("Keep the change!") and dashed out of the store.

As Naruto went to go pay for the eggs and the milk, things that he and Jiraiya had to survive without for the past few days because of all the training they've done, he began wondering what he got himself into.

oOo

Naruto could feel Kushina's presence in the training field as he approached it. When he arrived, she was standing by the lake, staring at it.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting." The blond wondered as he stood beside Kushina. She just shook her head, mentioning that she only got there a few minutes ago. Then, there was silence. Not a silence that was awkward, but a silence that had a devilish intent in it. One second, the two teens were there, the next, they were gone. Their spar has begun.

The blue-eyed boy hid behind one tree, trying to find Kushina by her chakra. Her chakra was disguised pretty well, but her still found her. However, it was fluctuating.

One chuckle escaped under his breath. She was trying to trap him. Well, he's not going to fall for that. Naruto took a guess at how far she was, taking a kunai out of his pouch of arsenal. The girl was a decent amount of meters away from him. She was standing there, waiting for Naruto to come at her.

Crouching down, Naruto was about to jump off into that direction when he belatedly felt a surplus of chakra to his right. He blocked the kunai that was flying his way, a hand attached to it. There was short pause as they stared at each other, before they started going at it.

Kushina, still in the air, brought her leg up into a sweeping arch, trying to get at Naruto's face. He grabbed onto that leg with his other hand that wasn't holding the kunai, stopping her kick. Then, the blond brought his own leg up from the other side, letting go of her leg as he did so. Kushina, with her leg now free, pushed away using the two connected kunai before he could land his kick.

Not waiting one second after placing his foot back onto the tree branch, he jumped up after her, throwing his kunai. Kushina threw hers, deflecting both kunai to bury themselves into tree bark. Then, there was a parry a punches and kicks as they descended to the ground.

They come to a stalemate as one fatal punch met with another. Naruto smirked at Kushina, who smirked back at him. Then, they pushed off of the punch to jump down different trees to get to the ground. Their feet barely met the ground before they took off once more at each other. Kushina took out some shuriken, throwing them at her adversary. Taking out his kunai, Naruto deflected all but two as they sliced at his left shoulder. Nothing fatal, they weren't deep.

Only a few meters away from each other, Naruto threw the kunai at Kushina. She didn't have enough time to avoid it fully as it sliced at her upper leg, slightly. Not given much time to recover, she tried to block the punch aimed at her face with both of her arms crossed. The blow knocked her off balance as it pushed her backwards, but she regained that balance by doing a back flip, landing once more on her feet.

Naruto didn't even hesitate as he attacked her once more. However, this time, Kushina was ready.

oOo

"Aw. Do you really have to leave so soon?"

It was a couple days after Naruto and Kushina's first spar together. Naruto went to go and say bye today as he and Jiraiya were leaving the village. The other day he had told her that he was traveling with his teacher to different places so they could gather data and so he could get stronger. She was hoping at the time that he'd be staying for a long while.

Naruto grinned. "Yep! We have to go visit all the other villages and such."

The redhead pouted, looking over his shoulder. "Is that your teacher?" At Naruto's nod as he turned his head towards Jiraiya, who stood a few meters away, she continued in a softer voice, hoping the teacher in question wouldn't hear. "Is his hair naturally that color, or is he just old?" Turned out it wasn't quiet enough as there was an indignant "Oi!" from that direction.

Naruto laughed heartily, knowing how badly that got on Jiraiya's nerves. "Unfortunately for him, his hair is naturally that color. But, don't hesitate to call him old man; you have my permission to."

They said their goodbyes, another tackle hug coming from Kushina as she told him to visit again sometime. Naruto promised that he would. He waved to her behind his back as he went to join the white haired man up ahead. There was a punch to the head waiting for him when he did catch up, but he just laughed it off.

"She seemed like a really nice girl." Jiraiya mentioned as they exited the village, eyes waggling in that way of his that suggested something totally different. He received a cry of disgust and a punch to the arm at the implication.

"Right." Naruto just rolled his eyes as Jiraiya gave a full blown laugh. "So, where are we heading off to next?"

"Who knows?" Naruto was about to yell at Jiraiya for that phrase again, he hated when the older ninja used that phrase, but Jiraiya continued. "We have awhile before we go back home. It's best to take it one step at a time."

"Hmph. Yeah, it's best to just go with the flow, I guess." And they continued on talking about what they still had to do and eventually started arguing about who won the egg and milk rematch they had the other day as they walked on to their next destination.

oOo

**Now that this chapter is done, I think that blue/purple link/button thing wants to be clicked. Thanks for reading and please review!**


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